Here Kitty, Kitty
by bethandannie
Summary: Ranger gives Stephanie some shocking news. An unexpected Merry Man comes to her rescue and helps her get on with her life. HEA. Rating for language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

Here Kitty, Kitty

Chapter 1

Damn it. My inbox had been filled overnight. Background search requests from Rodriguez. I still don't think he's a real person. I've never seen him nor have I ever talked to him. I groaned. This was going to take all day. I'd only been working for a couple of hours and it wasn't even noon. My butt was already numb from sitting still in my cubicle so long. I could hear my hard drive humming and clicking while watching the little green thing spinning on the monitor. Bobby had brought me a cup of coffee just the way I like it with plenty of sugar and milk. God bless him.

Saying I am not a morning person is the understatement of the decade. The guys made sure I had coffee every morning and on occasion, a smuggled Boston Crème donut. During _those days of the month_, my favorite TastyKakes mysteriously appeared on my desk, too. No one, it seemed, wanted to face me during a sugar-deprived, hormone-fueled meltdown. It had happened before and believe me, Stephanie in full rhino mode is not for the faint of heart. People could get hurt.

My name is Stephanie Plum. 100% Jersey girl, born and raised in Trenton, specifically 'the Burg'. Former lingerie buyer and most recently bond enforcement agent, also known as a bounty hunter. I never read Bounty Hunting for Dummies and I'm also somewhat of a klutz but I always manage to get my man. What I lack in skills I make up for with just plain stubbornness. And my very own Justice League to back me up, courtesy of Ranger.

Ricardo Carlos Manoso…street name Ranger, former Army Ranger, Special Forces, part-time mercenary, bad ass bounty hunter, my personal Batman and Cuban sex god all wrapped up in the most amazing body in the world. He is Cuban-American with mocha latte skin, black silky hair and dark chocolate eyes that turn me into a pile of goo with one look. That man can do things with his lips and hands that should be illegal.

I rocked back in my chair, sipping my coffee, mesmerized by the arrow going around and around on the monitor. My gaze shifted over to the picture sitting on my desk. It was of Ranger and me, outside the bonds office. Ranger was leaning into me, our foreheads touching. I was leaning back against his truck, my hands on his chest, his hands fisted in my hair. We were smiling at each other, completely unaware that Lester was taking the picture. Ranger has an identical framed picture on his desk.

There was no denying the chemistry between us. In the beginning, we tried to be just friends. We pushed each other away so many times only to come back together time after time.

We love each other but Ranger had always said he didn't do relationships. His love came with a condom, not a ring. But now after four years of dodging each other, we were in a relationship. A _complicated_ relationship. He was afraid I wouldn't be able to handle the ever-present danger in his life or my being with him would put me in danger. He thought every time he had to leave to go in the wind, on a mission for the government, it would hurt me. He would break into my apartment before he left, sitting in my bedroom and watched while I slept. He said it centered him. Surprisingly, knowing that Ranger came to me before he left helped me get used to his leaving. I admit I struggled with knowing that someday he might not come back. But he always did. He always came home to me.

He put the word out on the street that I was _his woman_ to keep the bad guys away.

Being Ranger's woman should have ensured my safety but some of the crazies that stalked me didn't get the memo. I was perfectly capable putting myself in danger without Ranger being anywhere close to me. My apartment was frequently firebombed, my cars blew up and I was shot at regularly. Ranger would show up out of nowhere and whisk me off to the Batcave to keep me safe. I finally gave in and accepted Ranger's offer of stable employment. One day I was chasing bail bond skips for my slime ball cousin and the next I was working full time for Ranger at his high level security company, RangeMan.

I loved all the guys at RangeMan. The Merry Men, as I called them. They were like brothers I never had but always wanted. Ranger had put together his company with military precision. All the men were either ex-Rangers or Navy SEALs. Each man was selected for individual 'skills' and most of the guys were still under contract with the government. I had developed close friendships with the men, particularly Bobby and Lester. Lester Santos had been a Ranger and oddly enough was Ranger's cousin. They served together in the Special Forces. Lester was a couple of inches taller than Ranger and had the most gorgeous green eyes I've ever seen. He was the goofball of the bunch, a playboy with a capital P and always joking around but was frighteningly deadly when he needed to be.

Bobby Brown had been a medical officer with Ranger's team and now was the company medic and Lester's partner. Bobby was about the same size as Lester. He had beautiful chocolate brown eyes and skin. He was quiet compared to Lester's boisterousness. Bobby had stitched me up and tended to my scrapes and bruises more than I cared to think about. He probably knew more about my body than my gynecologist.

The back of my neck started to tingle and I felt a hand on my shoulder. I squeaked while sitting straight up too fast in my chair. The coffee cup I had in my hand flew across my desk and rolled onto the floor.

"Jeez! Ranger! Make some noise!" I yelled. I should have known it was him. I could always feel him when he was near but he caught me off guard this time.

"Babe. We need to talk."

Shit. I hated it when he wanted to talk. It never ended well for me.

I got up and followed Ranger to his office. He was dressed in his usual RangeMan black. Black cargos, black painted on RangeMan t-shirt. I could smell his Bulgari shower gel, which on occasion combined with hot Cuban sex had caused me to black out much to my embarrassment and his satisfaction.

He stepped aside and waved me to the chair in front of his desk. I sat down. Then he shut the door. Shit.

"Babe," he said softly. Ranger was wearing his blank face that normally kept his emotions hidden. But today, the fine lines in his oh, so beautiful face, were deeper and he looked tired.

"I'm moving to Miami."

"What…Why?" I stammered. I swear my heart stopped and all the blood drained from my face. Ranger was leaving? What the hell?

Ranger let out a slow breath and said, "Rachel is pregnant. We're getting re-married."

Holy Batshit! I didn't see that one coming!

Rachel is Ranger's ex-wife and mother of his daughter Julie. Ranger had married Rachel out of obligation when she got pregnant right after he had joined the Army. He knew he could not and would not be there as a husband and father. They divorced once Julie was born. Rachel had married Ron a couple of years later and they had two sons together. Ranger allowed Ron to adopt Julie but Ranger provided for her financially. Last year, Ron had gotten very sick and had died.

Those pesky black dots began to dance in front of my eyes and I couldn't breathe. I closed my eyes and leaned forward, putting my head between my knees. Breathe, Stephanie, breathe.

When my head stopped spinning, I sat up and stared at Ranger. He _had_ been going to Miami quite a bit.

But that wasn't unusual considering his first RangeMan office was there. And he had handled everything when Ron died and made sure Rachel and the kids were taken care of. On top of that, Julie was beginning to date. I pitied any testosterone-crazed teenager that came anywhere close to her on Ranger's watch.

I should have been worried about _Ranger's_ testosterone around Rachel!

"Babe?" Ranger was watching me closely. I knew he was waiting for the tears. I felt the familiar sting in my eyes and the lump in my throat. I wanted to cry. I wanted to rush to him. I wanted him to wrap me in his arms and whisper that everything was OK. But for some reason, rhino Stephanie took over. I stood up and walked to the door jerking it open. I spun around and hissed at Ranger, "How could you?"

When I left his office, I slammed his door shut behind me so hard the windows would have rattled had the building not been built to withstand nuclear attack. I stomped to my cubicle. I picked up the picture on my desk and threw it down the hall, it bounced off Tank's door, shattering the glass. Then I grabbed my telephone. I had to yank the cable out of the wall to get it free and crashed it into my computer monitor. I kicked my chair out into the hall. Then I dumped the contents of my purse on my desk and fished out all the known trackers planted in it. I threw them down the hall too.

By now, Lester had come to the door of my cubicle, ducked the flying objects and stared at me wide-eyed. "Damn, Beautiful. What happened?" he asked. Bobby was standing behind Lester. Ram and Hal poked their heads around the corner.

I shot Lester my patented Burg glare. I threw my stuff back into my purse and picked up my keys. I tucked my gun into the back of my cargos. I had to get out of there. Now. I contemplated taking the elevator down but knew that the control room could lock it, blocking my exit from the building. Instead, I turned to the stairs and ran down to the garage. I burst through the door and looked left and right for a getaway vehicle.

Ranger's Porsche was parked in his spot by the elevator. I stared at it for a second and then jerked open the door and slid into the driver's seat. It's not like I was actually stealing his car. I had keys to all of Ranger's cars and this one was my favorite. Anyway, I doubted he was going to drive it to Miami. He probably had another one just like it there. I mentally rolled my eyes. I could borrow it. Then maybe I could get it blown up. I hadn't blown up a car, mine or his, for months.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Tank exited his office and took in the mess in the hallway just as Hector exited the elevator. As soon as Stephanie's telephone went dead and her computer went off-line, he had headed upstairs to see why.

Hector looked at Bobby and asked, "Estephania?" Bobby shook his head and said, "She and boss man had a _talk_. The next thing we knew, things were flying and breaking. She took off down the stairs. Hal said she's in Ranger's car heading east."

"Dios." Hector muttered and went back to the elevator. He stopped in the hall by Tank's office. He crouched down and pulled the picture from the broken frame and tucked it in his cargos. Then he disappeared into the elevator. A few minutes later, he re-emerged with a telephone and new monitor. He wordlessly disposed of the destroyed equipment and installed the replacements. Then he turned to Bobby and said quietly, "I will go."

Tank knocked on Ranger's door and opened it without waiting for a response.

"Shit, man. What did you do to little girl?" he demanded and sat down in the chair across from Ranger. Ranger was sitting with his elbows on his desk, his face in his hands.

"I told her," Ranger replied. He raised his head and looked at his oldest friend, his eyes full of regret. Tank was a mountain of a man. He was 6'6", over 300 pounds of solid muscle. His skin was deep chocolate brown and he kept his head shaved. Ranger and Tank had served in the Special Forces together. Tank was one of the RangeMan partners and second in command.

Tank swore under his breath and looked away. After a minute, he returned Ranger's gaze.

"When are you leaving?" Tank asked.

"Tomorrow."

Tank sighed and said, "You should have told her sooner."

"I know," Ranger said sadly. "I could never figure out a good time to talk to her. I knew it would tear her apart and I didn't want to face it."

"What the hell were you thinking, man?" Tank said, now angry at his friend. "You know I don't mess with your shit but damn, this is Stephanie we're talking about!"

Ranger let out a breath. "I know. Believe me, I know. When Ron died, Rachel needed me and this time, I wanted to be there for her. We spent a lot of time together and talked…a lot. We are older now and things just…happened. In some way I think I have always loved Rachel. She is Julie's mother. Before, it wasn't the right time, but now…I don't know…it feels different. Maybe that's why I could never give Steph everything she wanted."

"You can't come back, you know that don't you?" Tank said.

"Yeah," Ranger said.

The two men were quiet for awhile. Then Tank spoke, "So what's the plan?"

Ranger cleared his throat and said, "The apartment is mostly packed up and ready to ship. Ella has Stephanie's things. Would you see that she gets them?"

Tank nodded slightly and said, "She took your car."

The corners of Ranger's mouth turned up slightly and he nodded, "I know. Let her keep it. She loves that car. I hope it lasts longer than the last one."

Ranger's blank face slid back on. "I want her to keep working here. If she will. She's safe here and she's good at what she does. The men all love her. I'd like to see her move onto four and get out of that god-awful apartment of hers." RangeMan employee apartments were on the fourth floor.

Tank asked, "What do you want to do with seven?" He was referring to Ranger's penthouse apartment on the seventh floor of the building.

"Do you want it?" Ranger asked.

"Nah. My cats wouldn't like it. They like to look out the windows and see grass and trees. And birds. They love birds. Bobby needs to stay where he is to be close to the infirmary. How about Lester?" Tank said.

Ranger nodded, "Ella would just have to fumigate it every week." he smirked.

Tank chuckled and then frowned. Lester brought home a different woman every week. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea. But it would get him off the fourth floor. At the very least, the rest of the men could get a good night's sleep.

Ranger continued, "You might as well take my office. I just have a few things in the desk to get and then I'm done. Move Steph into your old office. If she stays. As you know, she can be a little stubborn but she deserves some privacy." Ranger said.

"Agreed. Do what you need to do. Let me know when you get settled in Miami. I'll take care of things here. I can't promise anything with Stephanie but I'll do what I can. I'm sorry it came to this. I'll miss you, man. You're my brother. We've gone through hell together and I'll always have your back." Tank said while running his hand over his head. God, he hated this.

Ranger just nodded and waved his hand, dismissing Tank. The big man got up and Ranger did the same. They bumped fists but then they embraced and clapped each other's back. This was good-bye and neither one of them thought this day would ever come without somebody being in a body bag.

Tank left Ranger's office and walked over to Lester's office and said, "Meeting in 10. My office. Call Brown."

Ranger sat back down at his desk and sighed deeply. He picked up the picture on his desk and put it in a duffle bag and then pulled some files from his drawer. He tucked them in the bag and quietly left the office and went up to seven to finish packing. RangeMan Trenton was out of his hands. He would take over the Miami office and move on. He hoped Stephanie could forgive him and do the same. Eventually.

Bobby and Lester entered Tank's office and quietly sat down. All hell had broken loose. They both knew something bad had happened with Ranger and Stephanie. Everyone at RangeMan recognized there was a special connection between them. Hell, they could sense each other whenever the other one was near. Ranger had let Stephanie breach his iron-clad defenses. He had never let anyone else get as close to him as Stephanie. Stephanie had ended her disastrous relationship with the cop. She let Ranger keep her safe and didn't argue when he insisted she carry trackers and a panic button. There had been some disagreements between them in the past that ended with Stephanie stomping out of the office and Ranger going down to the gym to beat the shit out of something. But they always worked it out.

Today, though, it was different. Lester had seen something in Stephanie's eyes when she glared at him. He had never seen pure rage in those blue eyes before.

Tank looked up and spoke, "Well, boys, we have a little situation. Ranger is taking over the Miami office and won't be back. Since we are all partners, the contingency plan is in place. I am in charge of Trenton. Lester, you are second in command now. Bobby, are you comfortable with continuing your position as company medic?"

"Absolutely, man. There is no place I'd rather be." Bobby replied.

Tank nodded, then looked at Lester, "What about you, Santos? You OK with taking over new business and accounts? Nobody is better working clients other than Stephanie."

Lester looked from Bobby to Tank. "I can do that. I'd like to still be in on field rotation though. I don't think I can be locked in the office all day," Lester said.

"Good." Tank said. "Lester," he continued, "Ranger and I agreed you can take the seventh floor apartment. I don't want it because I like my house and the cats are comfortable there."

"Cool!" Lester grinned and wagged his eyebrows.

Bobby glanced at Lester and then said, "Can you tell us what happened?" They both knew that if Ranger was leaving for Miami, permanently, that Stephanie would fall apart. She was strong but not that strong.

"No. Not now. What happened between Ranger and Steph is none of our business. Our priority is to run this office with no interruptions. Business as usual. Our first hurdle is to get Stephanie to stay here. While nobody has ever admitted it, we _need_ her. And she needs us. She's part of us although I don't think she knows it." Tank replied.

"Hector went to find her," Lester said. "She's probably at Point Pleasant."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I roared out of the RangeMan garage and an hour later pulled into the parking lot at Point Pleasant. I hadn't let myself think while driving. I forced my brain to go on auto pilot. It was early in the season and there wouldn't be many people around. I found a bench on an empty stretch of the beach and sat down. I shut off my phone and threw it into my purse. I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath. I wanted to cry. I knew I would eventually. My heart was aching and my head was pounding. All of my earlier anger returned and I began to shake.

What had just happened? How could I have been so stupid? Ranger, the man of mystery, wasn't known for his communication skills. He could do the ESP thing with the guys all day long. But tell me he was fucking his ex-wife? Hell no. And what about _me_? We hadn't ever defined what was between us. We just understood. I thought. Apparently, with Rachel, Ranger _could_ do relationships and his love came with a ring, not a condom.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. I pulled my feet up to the bench and hugged my legs to my chest. I put my chin on my knees and watched the waves roll onto the beach. There was a lone seagull wheeling in the wind. It would dip down to the water and then climb back up to ride the air currents. I wish I could fly. I tried it once from the roof of the garage when I was a kid. Gravity is a bitch.

Thinking about that now, thoughts of Joe pushed their way into my brain. Joe Morelli, homicide detective. Officer Hottie. Every inch of him was hot Italian. He has the best ass in Trenton. I should know. Joe and I have known each other forever, since we were kids. We have tried to be a couple more times than I can count but we were constantly at each other's throats. Every break-up got louder, messier and more public. The last one was almost a year ago.

Morelli just wouldn't let up demanding that I quit my bounty hunter job, stop hanging out at RangeMan, marry him, and be the good Burg wife, popping out babies on a regular basis. Not gonna happen. I didn't want to get married any time soon, if ever, and kids scared the crap out of me. I loved Joe, but I wasn't _in_ love with him.

According to my mother, Joe was my last chance at getting married and nice girls didn't hang out with thugs and chase criminals. I wasn't going to be what she wanted no matter how much she nagged me that I should behave and marry Morelli. I haven't been over for dinner for three months. And, honestly, I didn't miss it.

Ranger was always there to pick up the pieces when Joe and I would fight. He would hold me and dry my tears. He would tell me that I was beautiful, smart and strong. He supported my decisions and encouraged me to be what I wanted and not what everyone else thought I should be. He let me fly. Looking back now, Ranger was probably the reason that Joe and I had so many fights in the first place. And now, Joe and Ranger were both gone, for good this time. No on and off again with Joe. No stolen kisses behind the bonds office with Ranger.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. I stretched my legs out in front of me and opened my eyes. I don't know how long I sat like that just staring at the sky. By now, the control room would have picked up Ranger's car location. I should go home. I needed a drink. My stomach growled at that point. OK, I needed to eat, too. I didn't have lunch and I was really hungry.

I was just about to get up when I heard the whisper of footsteps in the sand behind me. I reached behind my back and withdrew my Glock, releasing the safety. 'Way to be aware of your surroundings, Babe,' I told myself. Jeez, how many times had Ranger said that to me? The back of my neck wasn't tingling so I knew it wasn't _him_. It was probably Lester or Bobby. I sighed and waited for familiar arms to hug me to their chest.

"Estephania?"

Hector sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed my forehead. "You OK, querida?" He carefully took the gun from my hand, engaged the safety and tucked it into my purse.

I turned my head and gazed into his eyes. I nodded.

"What did he do?" Hector asked. I guess no explanation was needed as to who _he_ was. Hector tightened his arm around me and I laid my head on his shoulder.

"He said he was moving to Miami. He got Rachel pregnant _again_ and he is going to marry her _again_. I had no idea they were together. I thought he was just helping her out with everything after Ron died. I guess my spidey sense didn't pick up on that one," I said. I dropped my head and stared at the sand.

Hector cupped my cheek with his hand and turned my face up to look at him. His eyes were full of anger. "You want me to kill him for you?" His voice was low, almost a growl.

I smiled. "No, don't kill him."

I was sure Ranger had killed for me at least once, maybe more, when my life was in serious danger. I didn't want to think about what Hector would do for me.

Of all the Merry Men, Hector Aguila is the most intimidating. Being gay does nothing to take away from his fierce exterior. His gang tattoos and the teardrops tattooed on his face are enough to scare anyone shitless. Even the other Merry Men were scared of him. He reminds me of a panther I saw on TV years ago. He moves silently and rarely speaks. His dark eyes take in every little detail and he hears everything. He had always worked alone. He gave everyone the impression he only speaks and understands Spanish.

It didn't take me long to figure out Hector knew English. All the men were shocked whenever he and I were partnered together or in the break room and he was speaking English. He was patient and gentle with me when I asked a million questions. Hector has taken it upon himself to be my protector and my friend. I think being his friend scares the street more than being Ranger's woman.

Hector grew up on the streets and is the only non-military man at RangeMan. He was still associated with a gang when Ranger met him. It seems that whenever RangeMan installed an alarm system for a client, just for fun Hector would see how quickly he could break in and shut down the system. It became a game of cat and mouse between them. Ranger finally decided it would be better to have Hector on his side and offered him a job with RangeMan to take care of the technology side of the business.

Hector is a self-trained electronics genius. He handles all the security installs, the computers and all the electronic gizmos that taking down skips and saving third world countries require. I didn't know how everything worked and was always amazed when it did. I liked it when I was partnered with Hector. He tended to work a little outside the box. It was fun.

The wind picked up and the sun was making its way west, putting a chill in the air. I shivered. Hector took off his RangeMan jacket and put it around my shoulders.

"Are you hungry, chica?" he asked. A rumble from my stomach confirmed the answer.

Hector stood up and turned to me. He was actually smiling. I slid my arms into his jacket, grasped his hand and stood up. He wrapped his arm around me and we walked up to the parking lot. I was surprised there was not another vehicle there.

"How did you get here?" I asked him.

"Manny," he said. I handed him my keys and he beeped the car locks. He opened the passenger door for me and I settled down in the soft leather of the seat. God, I loved this car. Hector leaned in and buckled my seatbelt. He kissed my forehead again and said, "Relax, Estephania. I will take care of you."

Hector swung the Porsche out of the parking lot and headed toward Trenton. I leaned my head back against the seat and stared into the twilight. How did my life get so FUBARed in such a short time? I could just hear Morelli, 'I told you, Cupcake, stay away from Manoso and his thugs, you'll just get hurt' or my mother. Jeez, I didn't want to think about that. I would never hear the end of it from her.

The next thing I knew, the car had stopped and Hector was kneeling next to the open passenger door gently squeezing my shoulder. I looked around and then panicked. We were in the RangeMan garage.

"No, Hector! I can't go back up there! Not now!" I shrieked.

Hector nodded. "I was going to fix dinner for us. But we can go somewhere else if you wish."

"Yes, please! Let's go to my apartment. We can cook or order in. I just want to get away from here before anyone sees me." I pleaded.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ten minutes later, Hector pulled the Porsche into my parking lot. He opened the door for me and helped me out of the car. He reached in the back and pulled out a duffle bag and then beeped the locks on the car. I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. "For me," he said simply.

He put his hand at the small of my back, guiding me inside. Ranger had always done that when we were together. It felt strange that Hector was doing it now but it was comforting just the same. We took the elevator to the second floor. Outside my apartment, he raised his hand and signaled for me to wait. I rolled my eyes. I couldn't help it. Standard RangeMan protocol called for a sweep of my apartment before I was allowed inside. I was used to it. Hector unlocked the door and I waited until he declared it free of crazy stalkers and killer dust bunnies.

I took off Hector's jacket and laid it across the back of my couch. Hector unholstered his gun and put it on the coffee table. Then he removed his utility belt and laid it over his coat. He dropped the duffle bag next to the couch. I needed to remember to ask him about that. I put my purse down and took out my gun. I walked into the kitchen, put my gun in the cookie jar turned gun safe, and thumbed through takeout menus. Nothing sounded good so I opened the refrigerator. I had actually gotten groceries yesterday. Yay, me. Hector came over to my side and peered into the refrigerator.

"Leave this to me. You make us a salad." Hector said. He turned me and nudged me toward the counter. I grabbed some bowls and plates out of the cupboard. He pulled some veggies and a couple of chicken breasts out of the refrigerator and two beers. He twisted the caps off the beer and offered me one.

"Thanks." I said and took a long drink of my beer and groaned. "Oh, God, that's good. I really needed that." I took another long drink and grinned at Hector. I could do some serious damage tonight. I would so hate myself in the morning. "I'm gonna have a headache tomorrow," I informed him.

Hector clinked his beer bottle against mine. His eyes had softened and he was smiling again. Street smart and dangerous Hector had disappeared. Chef Hector was in the house. I loved it when he cooked. We had often kicked back with Lester and Bobby at one of their apartments for dinner and movies. The guys were great cooks and when we all got together the results rivaled four-star restaurants. Of course, I wasn't allowed in the kitchen. Stoves and I don't really get along all that well.

I made salads for us while Hector sautéed the veggies and added thin strips of chicken. He added some kind of seasoning that I forgot I had. He had also found some rice and it was steaming at the back of the stove. I knew I should learn to cook but it seemed like so much trouble. Beer and pizza was so easy.

Speaking of beer, I noticed my beer was empty so I grabbed two more from the refrigerator. Again, Hector twisted the caps off and I tossed the empties in the trash.

Rex had come out of his soup can so I filled his dish with hamster crunchies and made sure he had fresh water. His little black eyes blinked at me and he sat up on his hind legs. His whiskers were twitching and his little nose sniffed the air. "What do you think little guy?" I asked him. "Someone is actually cooking in here. Smells good doesn't it?" I dropped a grape into his cage and he stuffed it into his cheek. He turned and wiggled back into his soup can. So much for being sociable.

I put my back to the counter and hopped up so I could watch Hector. I took a couple of drinks of my beer and swung my feet back and forth.

"Is your family in Trenton?" I asked him. I hadn't eaten anything since this morning. I was starting to feel the effect of the second beer and decided to question Hector. I wasn't scared of him but I didn't want to push my luck either. We were good friends but he hadn't talked much about his family.

Hector glanced at me and nodded, "Si, my mother is here. My little sister is in New York and my little brother is in the Army. He is serving his third tour overseas."

"What about your father?" I drained my beer and set the bottle down.

"He was killed in a car accident when I was 14. Drunk driver. I dropped out of school when I was 16 to help my family." He said softly. "I made some mistakes about the people I chose to hang around with. Ranger brought me to RangeMan and got me off the streets. That was five years ago."

I slid off the counter and moved closer to him. I reached up and lightly touched the three tattooed teardrops on his face. I knew each teardrop was for a gang-related kill. "You are a good man now, Hector. Everyone has things in their past they want to leave behind."

Hector placed his hand on my hip and searched my eyes. "What do you want to leave behind, Estephania?"

"Today." I said, wrapping my arms around his waist. "Thank you for coming to get me."

"I told you. I will take care of you. I will not leave you," Hector said quietly and pulled my head to his chest. I let myself lean against him. I closed my eyes and sighed. My stomach chose that moment to growl, loudly. I could feel Hector chuckling. "Is dinner ready yet?" I asked innocently and looked up at him. I'm pretty sure he rolled his eyes.

I set the table and Hector loaded our plates with the chicken, veggies and rice. Of course, it was delicious and I moaned my way through each bite, causing Hector to crack up. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. He was used to me and my love for eating.

After we ate, we cleaned up the dishes and moved to my couch. We had kicked off our boots and both of us had our feet up on my coffee table. Hector had the TV remote and was clicking through the movie channels. We were on our third beer and were totally relaxed. It was nice. Comfortable. It made me think of all the guys at RangeMan and how they had accepted me. They included me when they went to Pino's or to Shorty's for beer and pizza. I met all their girlfriends and we always had a good time. We had gone out dancing several times when Ranger was in the wind.

Shit. Ranger. RangeMan.

"I don't think I want to go to work tomorrow," I said and looked tentatively at Hector.

He nodded once and said, "Tomorrow is Friday. It should not be a problem unless there is an emergency. I will call Tank and let him know we are off-line."

"We?" I tried to raise one eyebrow at him. I failed. All I managed to do was scrunch up my forehead.

"Si. You think I would leave you alone? I know you, querida. You are being brave now. But the anger will leave you and you will be hurting," he said. "I will stay." Ohhh, that explained the duffle bag.

Hector pulled out his phone and dialed. "Hola," he said. He was silent for a minute and then continued, "She is fine but she is not working tomorrow. We both are off-line." Hector's face turned dark and I could see his jaw clenching. "She is fine," he said evenly. "I got this. No one else needs to come here."

Whatever Tank said obviously had pissed off Hector so I stood up and walked to the kitchen. I got another beer, held it up and looked at Hector. He nodded so I grabbed another one.

Hector leaned forward on the couch and when he spoke again, it was in Spanish. He lowered his voice and said a few more things and then disconnected. He tossed his phone on the coffee table. He leaned back against the couch and when he looked at me, the anger in his face was gone. Just like that.

"You don't have stay with me," I said as I plopped back down on the couch. I handed Hector a beer. He opened the bottle and handed it back to me. I gave him the other one to open for himself. I took a big drink of my beer. "I'll be OK here by myself. I have lots of i…scream. I mean ice…cream." I took another big drink of my beer and burped. Ever the polite girl from the Burg, I murmured "Ess…cuse me."

Hector grinned and I stuck my tongue out at him. "Don't laugh at me!" I feigned anger. Then he really did laugh at me. I tried to glare at him but my eyes wouldn't focus. I chugged my beer and sat the bottle on the coffee table. Then I crawled over the couch next to him and snuggled into his chest. Hector wrapped his arm around my shoulders and clicked off the TV.

"What did Tank say?" I asked cautiously.

Hector took a drink of his beer and shrugged, "He wanted to know if you were alright. He understood about you not wanting to work tomorrow. But he said I better not say or do anything to upset you. He was going to send Bobby over here. I told him no. Then Lester got on the phone and was yelling at me to take care of you or he would kick my ass."

"Thank you. For be…ing here," I hiccupped and then I yawned.

Hector laughed again. "Time for bed?"

"Mmmay…be," I said lightly. "Are you gonna put me in my jammies?" I poked a finger into his chest. Damn. That hurt. It was like hitting a brick wall. I had seen Hector shirtless in the gym before and I knew his chest was rock solid.

Hector stood up and pulled me to my feet. He wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me to my bedroom. He turned on the lamp on the nightstand and then sat me on the bed. I promptly fell backward onto the mattress and giggled. Hector shook his head and walked over to my dresser. I raised my head and closed one eye so I could focus to watch him. He opened the top drawer on the left. How did he know? Oh, yeah, a couple of times he had to pack me up to whisk me off to RangeMan for safety. Shit. Ranger's t-shirts were in that drawer and I liked to sleep in them.

Hector picked up a black t-shirt and growled. He must have realized it was Ranger's. He tossed the t-shirt back into the drawer and slammed it shut. He turned back to me and then pulled his own black t-shirt over his head. Hector walked over to the bed. He took my hand and pulled me back into a sitting position. Then he unbuttoned my shirt, removed it, and reached around me to unclasp my bra. I shrieked and tried to cover my chest.

"Relax, querida," he softly said. "I have seen you plenty when we work distractions." Good point. I tended to show everything when I 'slutted it up' to help RangeMan take down some of the more difficult skips. Oh, what the hell. I rolled my eyes and stared at the ceiling. He removed my bra and pulled his t-shirt over my head. I stuck my arms through the sleeves of the shirt and Hector pulled the shirt down into place. Then he pushed me back onto the bed and unbuttoned and unzipped my jeans. He pulled them down and off my legs and tugged my socks off. He tossed my clothes to the side. "I'm going to get my bag," he said.

Hector turned and headed to the living room. I leaned up on my elbows and watched him as he walked away. As awesome as Hector's chest and eight-pack abs were, his back was even more gorgeous. His skin was warm brown and smooth. His muscles were perfectly sculpted for the size of his frame. I could see the curling and twisted design of a tattoo across his shoulders that angled down to the middle of his back. His waist was narrow and his cargos hugged his hips. I licked my lips unconsciously. Yup, I was drunk. I gave myself a mental head slap.

"You need to use the bathroom? Brush your teeth?" he asked when he returned with his duffle. I obediently got up and headed to the bathroom. He set his duffle on the dresser and followed me to the bathroom. I stood there and stared dumbly at the counter. Hector picked up the cup with two toothbrushes in it. "Which one is yours?" he asked. "The blue one," I replied. He handed it to me and then held up the other one. "Ranger's," my voice cracked. He dropped it into the trash and set the cup down. His eyes moved to the razor lying by the sink. I grimaced. He picked it up and dropped it into the trash.

Hector stepped out of the bathroom while I brushed my teeth. He returned in a few minutes. His eyes met mine and he put a red toothbrush into the cup next to mine. Then he laid a razor next to the sink, followed by shaving cream and deodorant. He winked at me and left me to finish my business.

When I returned to the bedroom, Hector was laying on the bed with his back propped up by a pillow against the headboard. His hands were clasped behind his head and his legs were crossed at the ankles. He had undressed and he was wearing only boxers. God, he was hot! If I hadn't had such a bad day…and if he wasn't gay…I blinked to clear my head. Then I tripped on nothing. Hector sprang to his feet as I righted myself. "Ooopsie!" I blurted and ran right into his arms.

Hector laughed softly. "Come, querida. Get into bed." He pulled the covers back and I crawled across the bed so he could have the side closest to the door. I may be a little impaired right now but I'm not stupid! I tucked my feet under the covers and snuggled into my pillow. "I'll be right back," he said and headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, he came back to the bed and slid under the covers. He turned out the lamp and rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one arm.

There was enough light coming through the window of my bedroom that I could see his face. He was looking intently at me.

"You OK?" he asked.

I bit my lower lip. "Yeah, for now. Thank you for everything today. I'm trying not to think about things right now. I'll deal with it tomorrow," I said. Oh, good. Denial Land, here I come. Hector reached out and tucked a curl behind my ear. "Goodnight, Estephania," he leaned over and kissed my forehead. He laid back down and I turned so that we were facing each other.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "G'night, Hector." I was out like a light.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

_Rachel is pregnant. We're getting re-married._ _Rachel is pregnant. We're getting re-married._ _Rachel is pregnant. We're getting re-married._ I could hear those words over and over. I was running down a long hallway trying to get away from Ranger's voice. There was shattered glass everywhere. I ran until I fell into blackness. My body jerked and I woke up. I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding. Was it just a dream? A really bad dream?

After a couple of seconds, my head started to clear. It wasn't a dream at all. Ranger was leaving. He was going back to Rachel in Miami. I would never see him again. My friend, my mentor, my lover. Gone forever. This was worse than if he never came back from being in the wind. I could accept it if he was killed while on a mission. That possibility was always there hanging over his life. We had talked about it so many times. It was part of who he was. Part of why I loved him. But losing him this way was unbearable. The pain in my chest was crushing me. I swallowed hard and tried to get my breathing back to normal.

Then it started. First, one tear. Then another and another. I couldn't stop them. I closed my eyes and just let the tears slide from my cheeks to my pillow. I began sobbing. Huge, shoulder racking sobs. I began pounding my fist into the mattress.

"Shhhh, querida, it is OK. I've got you," Hector whispered in my ear. My eyes flew open. I suddenly remembered he was there. In my sleep I had turned so that my back was to him. His hand was on my waist and he kissed my shoulder. He rolled me so that my head was on his shoulder. He brushed my curls back from my face and pulled me tight against his side. He held my head so that his hand was cupping my face. I was still sobbing and the tears were pooling on his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Hector. I'm getting you all wet," I sobbed.

He kissed my head and whispered, "It is alright. Let your tears fall. Let them fall until there are no more."

Hector held me and stroked my head. He was speaking softly in Spanish while gently rocking me. I had no idea what he was saying but I finally stopped crying and relaxed against him. He turned slightly and pulled a couple of tissues from the box on the nightstand.

I took the tissues from him and sat up. I wiped my face and blew my nose loudly. Real lady-like, I thought to myself. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cry all over you," I croaked and then I groaned. I knew I looked like hell. I hate how I look when I cry. Some girls look so adorable when they cry. Not me. My eyes swelled up, my nose turned red and my face got all blotchy. And I was getting a killer headache.

Hector sat up and turned on the lamp. He turned back to me and said, "Do you want some aspirin?" I swear all of the Merry Men were born with ESP. "Uh huh," I nodded, feeling like a child. Hector went into the bathroom and then out to the kitchen. He returned with a bottle of water and two aspirin tablets.

"Thank you," I said. I took the aspirin and drank some water to chase them down. "What time is it?" I asked. "A little after 2:00," Hector replied. I groaned. Normal people were asleep at 2:00 a.m. He took the water bottle from me and drank the rest of the water. He set the bottle down and sat back on the bed, leaning against the headboard. I scooted out from under the covers and got up. "Be back in a minute," I mumbled and headed for the bathroom.

I took care of business and washed my face and hands. I lowered the seat on the toilet and sat down. Jeez, poor Hector, I thought. He has to be a saint to babysit me all day and take care of me. He was being so nice and what do I do? I get a little tipsy and then cried all over him. Suck it up, Stephanie, I told myself. Your boyfriend dumped you for his ex-wife. Put on your big girl panties and get over it. Except most of my panties had his name embroidered all over them. I would have to talk to Ella about that. Oh, shit. At some point, I would have to go back to RangeMan.

There was a quiet knock on the bathroom door. I squeaked and jumped up. "Estephania? Are you alright?" Hector asked through the door. I opened the door and stared at the floor. I was beginning to get embarrassed by being such a basket case. "Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you," I said.

"Look at me," he said. He placed his hands on my shoulders. I turned my face up and looked into his eyes, they were dilated black and full of concern. "What is wrong?" he asked.

"I'm sorry, Hector. My life is such a mess. _I'm_ a mess. You have been so good to me and I don't deserve it. I'm a horrible bounty hunter. I get shot at. My cars blow up. I'm a disaster magnet. All of you have always taken such good care of me because of Ranger. Now he's gone and I don't know what to do!" I wailed and started to wring my hands.

Immediately Hector wrapped me in his arms and said softly, "Querida, I take care of you because I love you. We all love you. It does not matter if Ranger is here or not. He is a fool to walk away from you. You are beautiful and kind. You are warm and smart and fun to be with. You deserve better, much better than what he gave you."

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying not to cry again. "He was everything to me," I whispered. "He is not worthy." Hector replied, his voice low and husky. I leaned against him and let out a deep sigh. He must have sensed I was tired and didn't want to talk anymore. He led me back to the bed, tucked me in, slid in beside me and switched off the lamp. He pulled me to him, my back to his front, spooning me. I fell asleep almost immediately.

The next thing I knew, I heard a phone ring and I felt the bed move. I groaned and reached behind me. The warm body I had snuggled the rest of last night was gone. I rolled and saw Hector sitting on the edge of the bed with his back to me. The lamp by the bed was on and he was talking quietly on his phone. I studied the tattoo on his back. It was actually very intricate and strangely beautiful. I had never seen anything like it. It looked like intertwined vines swirling over his shoulders and back.

Then I saw what looked like yellow cat eyes peering at me through the design. I stared at the eyes. They stared back at me, like they could see into my soul. I fought the urge to reach over and stroke his back. When Hector spoke, I jumped.

He had disconnected the call and turned to me. "There has been a break-in. Just kids. They cut the wires to the alarm. Cal and Woody took them in before they could get out of the building. I am sorry but I have to go and repair the system. Ram is going to pick me up."

"It's OK. You need to go. I'll be fine," I sat up and pulled the sheet to my chest. I don't know why I felt the need for modesty now after last night. Mental head slap.

Hector got up and headed to the bathroom. I hopped out of bed and picked up my discarded clothes from last night. I pulled on my jeans and then bent to pick up Hector's cargos. I sat down at the end of the bed and laid his cargos over my lap to smooth out any wrinkles. Just as Hector came back to the bedroom, my hand caught on one of the pockets. I saw the edge of a photo in it.

I frowned and looked up at him. "What's this?" He knelt in front of me and put his hand over mine. "It is your picture, Estephania. The one with Ranger that was on your desk. I picked it up to give to you. That was before I went to get you yesterday. Do you want to keep it?"

I pushed his hand aside and pulled the picture out of his cargos and touched Ranger's face. "Yes," I said softly. "As much as I hate him right now, I want to keep it." He stood and I laid his cargos on the bed. I took the picture and padded barefoot to my living room. I had rescued a small chest of drawers from a dumpster. After I cleaned it up and painted it, I used it like a small buffet table in my dining area. I bent down and put the picture in the bottom drawer.

As I straightened up, Hector came out of the bedroom fully dressed in RangeMan black. I guess he didn't need his t-shirt that I was still wearing. However, my Burg upbringing compelled me to ask "Do you want something to eat before you go? Or some coffee?" He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head and said, "I will get something at the office from Ella. Go back to bed. It is barely daylight." I smacked him on the arm. Everybody knew I hated mornings. He laughed, put his utility belt on and slipped his gun into the holster. I knew there was at least one other gun and several knives hidden somewhere on his body.

Hector put on his jacket. "I will be gone for a couple of hours. Will you be alright here?"

"Really, Hector, you don't have to babysit me. I can handle being by myself." I was _so_ going back to bed when he left.

Hector moved to my door while I followed him. "I will be back later. Lock the door. All of the locks," he looked at me, dead serious. "Yes, sir," I rolled my eyes. He stepped into the hall and I closed the door. I made sure I slid the dead bolts into place and the security chain. I don't know why, it never kept anyone out. Little kids and old people could break into my apartment. I really should move. My bank account was looking pretty good now that I was working at RangeMan full time. My utility bills always showed a credit and whenever I gave my rent check to Dillon, he said it was paid. Ranger. Damn him.

After Hector left, I fed Rex like a good hamster mommy. I made myself a peanut butter and olive sandwich for breakfast. I stood there a few minutes while I drank some water and watched as Rex ran around in his little glass world. He got a drink of water, burrowed through the wood shavings and then ducked into his soup can. I smiled and remembered how he came about to live in a soup can.

I got Rex to prove to my mother that I could actually take care of another living creature. I had been heating some soup and was watching Rex scurry around in his new aquarium. I went to throw the soup can in the trash. Rex had stopped and stood up on his little hind legs. His front paws stretched out on the glass like he was reaching for something. I looked at the can in my hand and for some reason, I peeled the label off the can and washed it out. I settled it down into the shavings in the corner of his aquarium. Rex immediately ran over, kicked some bedding into the can and disappeared inside. From that day on, I made sure Rex always had a clean soup can to live in.

Now that my maternal obligation was taken care of, I headed to the bedroom to go back to bed. I took off my jeans and crawled into the spot recently vacated by Hector. I detected the faint outdoorsy scent of him. I tried to go back to sleep but couldn't. Yesterday's events kept playing through my mind. I rolled out of bed and pulled my jeans on again and padded to the living room. I was surprised I didn't have a headache and felt pretty good considering all the beer I drank last night.

I went into the kitchen and made a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, I fished my phone out of my purse. I turned it on and saw eight voice messages. Two were from Ranger, three from the bonds office, two from my mother and one from Lester. The ones from Ranger just said "Babe", the bonds office were hang ups. My mother whined "Stephanie, this is your mother. I am expecting you for dinner. Mrs. Lewinski's daughter heard from Connie that you and that thug you were seeing are through. She told Mrs. Kozlowski who told your grandmother at Stiva's," and "Stephanie Michelle Plum. Don't you ignore me. You need to call Joseph and come to dinner." Seriously? The one from Lester just said "Beautiful, call me. Love you!"

I deleted all the messages and dialed Hector. "Hola," he picked up on the first ring.

"Hey," I said. "How did it go this morning?"

"No problem, chica. Everything is fixed," he replied. "You feeling OK?"

"Pretty good actually. Want to get some lunch?" I asked.

"How about I pick up Pino's? The usual?" he asked.

"Sounds good." A meatball sub from Pino's sounded heavenly.

"I need to finish paperwork. I will be back by noon. OK?"

"OK. I'll see you then. 'Bye," I said.

"See you soon, chica."

Just as I disconnected, my phone rang. Oh, hell. Morelli. Now what?

"Joe?" I answered cautiously.

"Cupcake. I heard Manoso left town. Are you OK?"

"Joe, why do you care? And don't call me Cupcake."

"Um, Steph, your mother called me," he said. "She said I needed to check on you."

"Oh, God, Joe. I'm fine," I groaned. "Ranger moved to Miami. End of story. I'm sorry my mother called you."

I could just see Joe staring at his feet, running his hand through his hair. This was awkward.

"So you're OK?"

"Yeah, Joe. I'm OK." I guess he really did care about me in spite of everything. "How's it going with Terri?"

"It's good. We're, um, getting married in December," he paused and then said, "If you need anything, Steph, just call me. Will you do that?"

I blew out a breath. "I will. Thank you. Say hello to Terri for me."

"See you around, Steph."

When Joe and I called it quits for good, he started seeing Terri Gillman again. I knew they went out during a couple of our off phases. They had dated through most of high school but when Joe came back from the Navy and became a cop, he had to stop seeing Terri. Her uncle, Vito Grizzoli, is the head of one of the most prominent mob families in Trenton. It wouldn't look good for his niece to be involved with a cop. After our split up, Joe and Vito had come to an agreement. Joe wouldn't handle cases that involved anyone from Vito's 'organization' and Vito and his associates would keep their 'business' activities out of town.

I poured myself a cup of coffee, added milk and sugar and went over to the little dresser and opened the bottom drawer. I took out the picture of Ranger and I and then a large envelope. I sat down at my table and removed a stack of pictures from the envelope. Slowly I began to sort them into piles. I knew there would be three piles when I finished.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The first pile was from high school. Richard. Tall, blonde and muscular. Beautiful brown eyes. We had dated off and on during high school and then for a couple of years after that when I was in college. Everyone thought we would get married. Hell, we thought we would get married. But life has a way of changing courses. I looked through the photos. Most of them were after high school. One showed us at the beach with another couple that was married. It was the first time we had hung out with a married couple. It had made me feel like we were married. I smiled. That day was really fun. A few months after that, Richard joined the Navy. We saw each other when we could. We tried to keep in touch but long distance relationships are hard. Eventually, he met another girl and got married. I understand he is still in the Navy and they have two kids.

Joe occupied the second pile. THE Burg on and off again relationship. A lot of history. From childhood to adulthood. Eveyone knows our history. You'd think our relationship was published daily in some sort of Burg newspaper. I remembered when Joe became a cop. There were pictures of him graduating with Carl and Big Dog and his mom pinning his badge on him. There were dozens of pictures of us together at his house or at one of our parents' houses, at the beach and at home with Bob. I laughed as I thought of the big, hairy dog. Again, another chapter of my life played out in pictures. We all know how that one turned out.

I sighed deeply and looked at the final pile of pictures. Ranger. There were only a few of him or us together. Mostly from the office. The picture from my desk held my attention. Anyone seeing that photo would swear we were hopelessly in love with each other. Maybe we were. I closed my eyes and began to sob. I had to let go somehow. I prayed the hurt would go away. As long as I remained angry with him, I could let go. But, I was angry with myself too. I had let my heart get broken again. I swore I would never let Ranger get to me like that!

I got myself under control and took another sip of my coffee while studying the photos of the men I have loved spread out in front of me. Why did all my relationships fail? Was there something wrong with me? Like women who keep entering into relationships with losers or abusive men? Was there a common thread to the men I've loved in my life? I looked at the pictures again. Slowly, it began to make sense.

Ranger, Joe, Richard. Their lives were dedicated to the military or law enforcement. These men obviously could commit to their country or their community. Maybe there is something about those chosen careers that just doesn't fit me. I thought more about that and then it hit me.

The problem _was_ me!

They all worked in structured environments, rules and regulations. I, on the other hand, flew by the seat of my pants. I hated to be controlled or told what to do. It wasn't that I failed at relationships. I failed at the wrong relationships. I sighed deeply and drank more of my coffee.

I gathered all the pictures and slid them back into the envelope. I got up and put the envelope back into the bottom drawer. As I slowly closed the drawer, I thought, well there goes another chapter in the Life and Times of Stephanie Plum. I turned and picked up my now empty coffee cup and walked over to the couch and sat down. I groaned and let my head fall back against the cushions. I closed my eyes and fought the anger that was welling up inside.

I was angry that I fell in love with the wrong men.

"Shit!" I yelled and threw my coffee cup across the room. It hit the wall and crashed to the floor in the kitchen.

Just then, my phone rang. Shit, shit, shit. Ranger.

I took a breath and tried to keep my voice calm. "What?"

"Babe."

"Don't call me Babe." I was instantly pissed off. "What do you want, Ranger?"

"Steph, are you alright?" Ranger was asking if I was alright? Had he been drinking? At this hour? His voice was quiet and there was nothing in the background that gave me a clue to where he was. Was he still at RangeMan or in Miami?

"I'm fine, Ranger. What. Do. You. Want?"

"I wanted to tell you I'm sorry, Steph. I care about you and I want to know if you're OK. I never meant to hurt you, ever," he said.

"Well, you did. Don't call me again," I disconnected the call.

Wait for it, three…two…one…my phone rang again.

I connected the call and waited.

"Ba…Steph, _please_, I'm trying to tell you I'm sorry for everything that happened."

Again, I waited and said nothing. Did he think using the P word would let him off the hook?

"Steph?"

"What are you doing, Ranger? Trying to clear your conscience?" I snapped at him. "Where are you? Shouldn't you be with Rachel?"

When he spoke again, his voice was still quiet. "RangeMan. Miami. I needed some time."

I snorted. "You needed some time? You have everything you want in your life and you destroyed mine!" I shouted at him.

"Dios, Stephanie! This isn't what I _wanted_. But it happened and I have to take responsibility for it. I hate like hell what I've done to you. I _never_ wanted to hurt you!"

"What if I was the one who got pregnant, Ranger? Would you take responsibility for that or would you run out on me? Go into the wind?"

"Steph. You know the answer to that," he growled. I knew his blank face had slammed down.

Suddenly I wanted to hurt him as much as he hurt me.

"Do you even know if this baby is yours, Ranger? Is Julie really yours?" I spat out.

I heard him suck in a breath.

"Goodbye, Carlos," I disconnected the call and turned my phone off. I couldn't believe I said that. Of course, Julie was Ranger's daughter. She looked just like him. That was mean, even for rhino Stephanie.

My hands were shaking as I buried my face in them and choked back sobs. Shit. I had pulled the tiger's tail this time. Was Tank was going to ship me off to a third world country on Monday? Did I still have a job? Did I still want to work at RangeMan? Was I working there only because of Ranger?

I finally regained control of my breathing and got up. Hector would be back soon and I needed to get myself together. I didn't want freak out on him again. I went into the bedroom and peeled off Hector's t-shirt. I laid it on my dresser and tossed my dirty clothes in the hamper. Then I went into the bathroom and turned on the shower. I looked at Hector's things on the counter and smiled. I was glad I didn't have to be alone last night. Hector always had my back.

When I finished my shower, I dried my hair and pulled it back into a pony tail. Back in the bedroom, I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It was almost noon. I pulled out a pink bra and matching panties followed by a pink tank top, jeans and my sneakers. I was just tying my shoes when I heard the locks tumble on my door. Great. Either I had another stalker or Hector was back. I rolled my eyes. Please let it be Hector. I don't think I could deal with a stalker right now.

I met Hector half way through the living room.

"How _do _you guys do that?" I asked him. Hector just grinned and went into the kitchen and set the Pino's bag down.

"Yeah, I know. If you told me, you'd have to kill me," I grumbled and followed him. He must have changed clothes at his apartment before coming back here. He was wearing faded jeans, a black t-shirt, his utility belt and sneakers.

I opened the refrigerator and took out two bottles of water. I handed one to Hector.

"I got a Coke for you, chica" he said. "Thought you might need it this morning."

"You're too good to me, you know that?" I said and put the other bottle back into the refrigerator.

Hector's eyes cut to the floor. He leaned down and picked up the pieces of my coffee cup I had thrown and looked at me intently. "What happened, querida? You have been crying. I can see it in your eyes."

I turned away from him and mumbled, "Ranger called."

Hector's arm shot out and grabbed mine. He pulled me to him. "He called? What did he want?"

"He said he was sorry. Like that was going to make everything all right. Like I would forgive him and life would just go on like nothing happened!" I was shouting now and had begun to shake. I tried to pull my arm away from Hector but he held firm and crushed me against his chest. He held my head against his shoulder as I tried to wiggle out of his grasp.

"Querida! Stop fighting. Let me hold you. You will be OK. Just let me hold you," he crooned in my ear. He kissed the top of my head and began whispering in Spanish.

I felt myself relax into him. I closed my eyes and my breathing evened out. How was he able to do that to me with just a few words? This man, my partner, my friend, had become my rock.

"I'm sorry, Hector," I whispered.

"Estephania, querida, do not be sorry. You are hurting and you are angry. I will always be here for you. I told you last night I will not leave you. Come and sit down and eat. Eating always makes you feel better," he said with a smile.

We settled down at the table. I, of course, dug into my meatball sub with gusto. Hector was right. I moaned, licked my lips and sucked the marinara sauce off my fingers. It was better than sex. OK, maybe not but it was all I had to go on right now. Hector raised his eyebrows and just watched me while he ate a grilled chicken sub. I can't help it. I loved to eat. The only thing that could be better right now was cake.

"Want to have fun today?" Hector asked.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Define fun," I narrowed my eyes at him. The guys' idea of fun was hours in the gym or the gun range. Mine involved a shoe sale at Macy's.

"Lester said he left you a message to call him," Hector said as he got up and cleared our mess off the table and threw the trash away. "I told him your phone was probably off."

"Oh, crap! I forgot to call him!" I grabbed my phone out of my pocket. Hector put his hand on my arm and said, "No need. Some of the guys are going to the paint ball course. He said for us to come, too. If you want to."

"A chance to kick Lester's ass? Oh, yeah, I'm in!" I jumped up and headed for the bedroom. "I need to put some old clothes on, though."

Hector followed me and I glanced at him a little nervously and bit my lip. I didn't think I needed help changing clothes today. He looked at me and removed his utility belt and laid it on the dresser by his duffle bag. He unholstered his gun and tucked it into the back of his waist. Then he backed out of the bedroom and pulled the door shut. Whew.

I dug through my closet for the oldest jeans I had and an old long sleeved shirt plus some old sneakers and socks. I had been to the paint ball course before and knew that whatever I was wearing would get thrown away. The paint dried fairly quickly so it was no use to wash my clothes. I took off my jeans and wiggled into the old ones. I buttoned the shirt over my tank top and sat down to put on my old shoes.

The last time I had been to the paint ball course was with Ranger. It was one on one and of course, I was 'dead' in the first twenty minutes. I managed to tag him once in the ass, though. He had given me the 200-watt smile, kissed me senseless and said 'proud of you, babe'.

Damn! My eyes started to sting. Do not cry, do not cry. 'Get the hell out of my head, Ranger!' I mentally yelled to myself as I tied my shoes.

I took a deep breath. I stuck my Rangers ball cap on, pulled my pony tail through the back and joined Hector in the living room. "Ready, querida?" he asked. I responded with an eloquent, "Yup!" I needed some happy and by golly, I was going to get some. I was going to go play with my Merry Men!

We left my apartment and took the stairs down. A black SUV was parked by the door and we climbed in. Thirty minutes later we met up with Lester, Bobby, Hal and Woody at the paint ball course. The guys pulled protective vests and goggles from the SUV they were in. Bobby handed me a vest and goggles and a paint ball gun. This was going to be so much fun. Hector and I paired up as one team. Bobby and Lester were a team and Woody and Hal were a team. The rules were pretty simple. No head shots. Everywhere else was fair game but only torso shots were kills. Last man standing meant their team won.

Real weapons were removed and stowed in the SUVs. It amazed me how much hardware the guys managed to hide on their bodies. I tucked my purse under the seat of our SUV. I noticed some clothes hanging in the back seat. Must be Hector's.

Once we all had our protective gear on and O2 cylinders, we all nodded. Let the games begin! Hector and I immediately broke left and ducked behind some bushes. Bobby and Lester went straight and disappeared into a ditch. Woody and Hal took off for a bunker to the right of Bobby and Lester. I looked at Hector and he nodded toward a rock pile about 30 feet in front of our bushes. I nodded in return and broke for the rocks. Paint pellets zinged over my head as I rolled and took cover behind the rocks. I peered out from the rocks and saw Lester still in the ditch in front of me. Bobby was crawling toward the bunker Woody and Hal were in.

I eased up over the rocks and had Bobby in my sights. I fired off three rounds and hit his right shoulder. He rolled to his back and returned my fire. A few pellets hit my arm as I ducked behind the rocks. I then raised up again as Bobby took off back toward the ditch. I started firing again hoping to cut him off before he could get to the ditch. Lester whirled and fired at me providing cover for Bobby. I dropped behind the rocks and then ran for a stand of trees. Lester was still firing at me and just as I slipped into the trees, a couple of his pellets hit my leg. Shit.

Hal ran from the cover of the bunker and dove behind a low rock wall. Hector had spun to his right and saw Woody heading to one of the wood sheds on the course. Woody saw Hector and started firing toward him. Hector dropped low and slowly made his way through some tall grass toward the shed. He stood up and caught Woody square in the chest. Woody was out. Ha! Score one for us! Hector disappeared into the trees beyond the shed.

I kept Lester in my sights and tried to pick up on where Bobby had gone. He had vanished into some bushes behind the ditch. There was another hedge row in front of me so I crouched low and ran for it. About that time, Lester charged toward the shed. Hector broke cover but Lester caught him with several shots to his chest. Crap. I was on my own. I ran further down the course and found a big tree to hide behind. I caught movement to my left and saw Bobby circling to the right behind my cover. I put my back to the tree and stayed still. I closed my eyes and listened, visualizing Bobby coming through the bushes. I opened my eyes when I thought he was about even with my tree, I crouched and fired.

Bobby dove for a bush but I had caught him in the chest and shoulder. Booyah! Bobby was out. Just then I saw Hal run for the bushes that Hector and I had first taken cover in. I dropped and crawled over to some brush piles behind a ditch. I slid into the ditch. Lester was nowhere to be seen. I knew he would be coming for me but where the hell was he? Just then, a crow burst from the top of a tree in front of me, cawing loudly. I trained my scope up the tree and into the branches. Heh, heh, heh. There was Lester, perched on a branch halfway up the tree, his back to me.

I watched Lester as he took aim toward some bushes to his left. Hal must be behind them. I raised up slightly and popped off several rounds squarely to his back. I heard him curse. Gotcha! All's fair in love and war! My movement had blown my cover though and Hal stood up and fired off a couple of shots toward me. The pellets hit my chest and thigh. Damn. I was 'dead'. Hal and Woody had won. Our war had taken an hour and it was a blast.

We all were exhausted, panting and laughing when we met up back at the course entrance.

"Damn, Bomber!" Bobby exclaimed and pulled me into a bear hug. "You got me AND you got Lester!" He gave me a high five.

They all fist bumped and did that complicated hand shake thing that I could never get the hang of. Hector wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my forehead. We took off our gear and loaded it back into their SUV.

Then Lester said, "Hey, how about we get our women and meet up at Shorty's at six?"

Hal couldn't go because he was on duty tonight and Woody said he had an appointment with his wife. So we decided Hector and I along with Bobby and Gina, Lester and his flavor of the week, were still going to get together for dinner. Hector and I headed for the SUV. He opened the door for me and then angled into the driver's side. I looked over at him and teased, "Can I be your woman tonight?"

He turned to me and winked. "You are already my woman, querida." He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. Holy crap! The man was gay but I blushed anyway. I was sweaty, covered in paint splotches, my hair tangled in my ball cap and I was wearing NO makeup. I rolled my eyes. Every man's dream woman!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Hector put the SUV in gear and drove back to my apartment. Once he parked the SUV, he came around and opened the passenger door for me. He retrieved his weapons and his clothes. Once inside the building, he guided me toward the stairs but I backed away and hit the elevator button.

"Everything hurts. I'm _not_ taking the stairs," I stated firmly.

After the usual security check, he let me enter my apartment. I dropped my bag on the coffee table and crashed on the couch.

"You go first," I said to him. "I think I'll just lay here and try to get feeling back in my legs!"

He chuckled and went into the bedroom. I heard the shower running minutes later. I must have dozed off because the next thing I knew, Hector was standing in front of me. He was dressed in black jeans and a dark blue button down shirt. His black hair was still damp from the shower. He kept it cut short and brushed it back in that sexy just out of bed look. He was clean shaven and I could smell the outdoors woodsy scent of his shower gel.

"Looking pretty good there, partner," I said and then groaned as I sat up. I ached all over. Hector laughed and said, "Hot shower will make you feel better." He pulled me to my feet and pushed me toward the bedroom. He turned and picked up his gun and tucked it behind his waist. He picked up the remote and clicked the TV on and sat down.

I peeled off my clothes and ducked into the bathroom. The red marks on my arms from the paint pellets were starting to fade. Thirty minutes later, I was scrubbed, buffed, and shaved. I toweled off and wrapped the towel around me. I decided to go with two coats of mascara and lip gloss followed by copious amounts of Mr. Alexander's magic mousse for my hair. I flipped on my hair dryer and finger combed my curls dry. Thankfully, my hair cooperated and fell in soft loose curls around my shoulders.

I slipped into buff colored panties and matching push up bra. I headed for the closet to find something to wear. I chose a peach dress with cap sleeves and a skirt that I knew would swirl just above my knees. The front was cut low enough to show off the 'girls' and the back dipped just above my shoulder blades.

I pulled out a cream cropped sweater in case it got chilly and slipped on some mid-heel sandals. Not bad, I thought, smugly, not bad at all.

Satisfied with my appearance, I sashayed out to the living room. Hector stood up, turned off the TV and let out a low groan. "Dios, Estephania. You are beautiful! I will have a hard time keeping men away from you tonight."

I batted my eyelashes at him and purred, "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Just to be ornery, I turned my back to him and slowly bent to pick up my purse. Seconds later, Hector spun me around and pulled me into his arms and crushed me against his chest. "Estephania, I cannot think of you with another man. You are mine."

My brain fogged over and I blinked up at him. "What do you mean I'm yours? You are my partner and my friend. I mean, but we're not dating or anything. Unless you want to. I mean, we can be friends and date, I guess. You don't _date. _But I can be your date tonight with the guys. I mean, I'm OK with that." I was rambling but I couldn't stop. I was totally confused. I never saw him with anyone and he never talked about dating either. Lester had said he was gay!

He kissed me softly and said, "I have stood by and watched while Morelli made you miserable. And I have watched while Ranger played with you and your love for him. They are gone. I am here now. You _are_ mine just as I am yours. Tonight we have a date. What happens after tonight, we will see."

Huh?

"OK," I whispered. I know I probably had that 'deer in the headlights' look. "We should go now."

He handed my purse to me. In a daze, I dug my keys out and he took them from my hand. He put his hand on my back and guided me out to the hall. He turned, locked the door and we walked to the elevator.

I looked at him, raising my eyebrows. "Really? The elevator?"

"I do not want you to stumble. A trip to the hospital would ruin our date," he quipped. I smacked him on the arm.

Once in the parking lot, Hector guided me toward the Porsche. I turned to him, again, raising my eyebrows. He shrugged and grinned. Apparently, he knew me better than I thought. He beeped the locks and helped me slide into the passenger seat. Then he went around to the driver side and angled into the seat.

As he drove out of my lot, I sighed and said, "You know, I'm really going to miss this car." I closed my eyes and let my head sink back into the soft leather of the seat.

Hector picked up my hand and asked, "What about the owner?"

I made a face. "What happened was inevitable. I don't think we could have been a _couple_ forever. We were together but not _together_. He gave me as much of himself as he could. But it wasn't enough to make us last the way it should have. Does that make sense?"

"Si. But it does not make the hurt any less. You loved him." He placed my hand on his thigh and covered it with his hand.

I sighed again, "I did. I loved him but I have to let him go. I have to get used to being alone again."

Hector squeezed my hand and said, "You will not be alone, querida."

I tilted my head and looked at him. "For _tonight_. And then what?"

He picked up my hand again and kissed the back of it. "I told you I would not leave you. I will stay as long as you want." He turned his head and his dark eyes met mine. Thank God we had just pulled into Shorty's parking lot.

I bit my lower lip. I had no idea where this conversation was headed. A trip to Denial Land was definitely on the agenda. "Can we talk about this later?" I asked him and he smiled.

Hector parked the Porsche next to Lester's red Mustang. I saw Lester and a tiny blonde in a tiny red dress walking toward the door of Shorty's. Lester turned and they waiting while Hector got out and opened the passenger door for me. He held out his hand and helped me slide out. He placed his hand at my back and we walked over to Lester.

Lester looked at the Porsche and then back to Hector. He glanced at Hector's hand which had settled on my hip.

"Hey, Beautiful! Looking good tonight!" Lester wagged his eyebrows. He and Hector did the fist bump thing.

"Steph, Hector, this is Bridget. Bridget, this is Stephanie and Hector. They both work at RangeMan."

I extended my hand to Bridget and said, "Nice to meet you. I love your dress!" Bridget smiled and squeezed my hand. "Thank you. I love yours, too. That's a beautiful color on you," she said in return.

Hector nodded his head slightly and said, "Hola."

Bridget's eyes widened as she looked at the tear drops on Hector's cheek. Then she smiled brightly, took his hand and said, "Hi!"

Lester opened the door and waved for us all to go inside. "Now that we're here, this party can get started!" he said.

I shot a pitying glance at Bridget and she just rolled her eyes. I think I was going to like her.

We started to make our way through Shorty's to the tables in the back. Bobby was already there at a large table and had pulled an empty chair next to him.

"Cupcake," a way too familiar voice said.

I turned to see Joe, Eddie and Carl. "Hey, guys," I greeted them. Hector stopped and took a step toward Joe. I put my hand on his arm and said quietly, "It's OK, Hector. Go on back. I'll just be a minute." Hector glared at Joe and then followed Lester and Bridget toward our tables.

"What do you want, Joe?" I said impatiently.

Joe pulled me to the side and said, "Jesus, Steph. First Manoso and now _him_?" Joe nodded toward Hector.

"Hector is a good man, Joe. You may not see it, but he is. He's good to me. He's my partner and my _friend_. Don't start anything."

"He's a gang-banger, Steph!"

"He _was_ in a gang. A long time ago. You know that," I said evenly. I was trying very hard not to yell at Joe or knee him in the nuts. My knee was legendary in the Burg. Since I wasn't real fond of my gun and my stun gun usually wasn't charged, it had been proven to be a useful tool when taking down skips.

"Has your mother met him yet," Joe asked.

I was leaning toward a knee to the nuts now. "No, she hasn't. I don't care what she thinks anyway. I'm going back to my friends now, Joe. Good talking to you." I turned away from him, gave Carl and Eddie a finger wave and walked to the back.

Hector stood up and pulled a chair out for me. As he helped me scoot up to the table, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Everything OK, querida?" I turned my head and smiled at him. "Yeah, Joe just wanted to talk for a minute." When Hector sat down again, he kept his arm along the back of my chair, his hand on my shoulder. I'm pretty sure he did that for Joe's benefit. I stifled a smirk.

I said hello to everyone and then turned to Bobby, "Where's Gina?"

"She'll be here when she finishes her shift at the hospital," he said. Bobby and Gina had met at the hospital when one of the Merry Men or I had been taken there to get put back together. Gina was an emergency room nurse. I was sure it had been two or three years now and they were still together. They fit each other perfectly.

Just then, a couple of waitresses set down two pitchers of beer and some glasses. We gave them our orders for pizza and then Bobby started pouring glasses for everyone.

I leaned in toward Hector and whispered, "Don't let me get stupid tonight." He smiled and winked at me. He squeezed my thigh under the table. Whoa. My stomach did a little flip-flop.

Lester was eyeing us over the rim of his beer glass. He looked at me, then at Hector, and back at me.

"So, you two?" he asked, wagging his eyebrows.

I shot a wide-eyed look at Hector. He cleared his throat and said, "We are together tonight, if that is what you are asking." Suddenly, all eyes at the table were on us.

Thank God, Gina showed up at that moment and attention was directed toward her. Lester, however, was still looking at me. I shot him my best Burg glare and kicked him under the table. He jumped slightly and mouthed 'ouch' at me. I just smiled sweetly, stuck my tongue out at him and took another drink of my beer.

I visited with Bridget and found out she and Lester had met at the cop shop a month ago. She worked for an attorney and was from the Burg, just a couple of years behind me in school. I couldn't believe Lester had actually been seeing someone for a month. It had to be a record for him. Who would have thunk it?

The guys started telling Bridget war stories and we relived our paint ball war from today. Gina suggested the next time we went, the girls should be included. We all agreed that shooting the guys with paint pellets would be an excellent way of working off our, uh, hormones. The guys weren't so sure that was a good idea. I swear I saw Bobby turn green while we were trying to decide if crotch shots were legal or not.

The pizza arrived and we all dug in, passing around the different kinds. More pitchers were ordered and everyone refilled their glasses. Just then Bobby's cell phone rang. He looked at it and said, "Woody." He listened for a few minutes and started to grin.

"Desk duty for you, man," Bobby said. "You need to get with Tank on Monday. There's a bunch of paperwork. We don't give a shit about you but we want to make sure Caroline is taken care of. Congratulations, I mean it!"

Bobby disconnected. "Woody's wife is pregnant. They found out this afternoon," he explained to us. It was RangeMan policy that no one was in the field if their wife, or girlfriend, was expecting.

Lester was the first to break the silence, "Poor bastard. He's toast now." Bobby reached over and smacked him on the head.

"Ow!" Lester yelled. "I'm just sayin'!"

I took a big drink of my beer and thought 'I'm just happy it's her and not me'.

All eyes turned to me. Lester gave me a shit eating grin.

"Out loud?" I asked sheepishly. Everyone laughed.

I rolled my eyes at Bridget and she returned the gesture. I started giggling and so did she. Gina had her face buried in her arms on the table. Her shoulders were shaking with laughter. The guys were looking at us like we were crazy. They had no idea. The sisterhood of the negative test results.

"Sorry," Gina gasped, "but we _are_ glad it's not us!"

"Hey," Bridget said, "I think we need to go dancing!"

We all chugged our beer and money was tossed on the table. We all got up and headed to the door.

"Where are we going?" Lester asked.

"How about Pistols?" Bobby looked at the guys. They nodded and we headed to our respective vehicles.

Once Hector settled me in the Porsche, he slid into the driver side. "Estephania? What if it _was_ you? With me?"

Huh?

A/N Thanks everyone for the reviews. This is so much fun! Sorry to all those who don't like Ranger being a jerk but I can't help it. He's done it to her too many times!


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

He turned and looked at me. I bit my lip and stared down at my hands in my lap. Me? With him? Oh, shit. Where the hell did that come from?

I started to feel light headed. I didn't know if it was from the beer or the question. I had a few false alarms with both Joe and Ranger. It scared the crap out of me. Joe had been wishful, hoping we would get married and I would become the complacent but fertile Burg wife. I had been terrified of Ranger's reaction, knowing full well he may not welcome the addition to his life.

"Querida? Look at me," he said.

I looked over at him. His warm brown eyes were dilated black, staring intently into mine. "Hector. I don't know how to answer that. I've always been scared of that happening. Joe wanted it and Ranger avoided it. My feelings were somewhere in the middle. I think if it happened, with the right man, it would be wonderful. But I guess neither one of them was the right man." I shook my head as if to clear it.

Hector leaned over and pulled me to his chest. I melted into his arms and wove my fingers in his hair. He kissed my cheek and moved his lips to my throat, sucking gently. I whimpered as he gripped me tightly. He turned his head and he kissed me deeply. My lips parted and his tongue probed for mine. My body was tingling and fire shot to my belly.

"I am the right man for you, querida. Let me make love to you and I will prove it," his voice husky, his accent more pronounced.

A horn honking startled both of us and we pulled apart. Lester. He was grinning at us from the Mustang.

"Dios! I am going to kill him!" Hector groaned and put the car in gear, following Lester out of the parking lot.

Holy crap! I drew in a shaky breath and peeked at Hector. I smiled at him nervously. He's gay! His eyes darkened again and he smiled back at me. Neither of us said anything the rest of the drive to the club. I needed to have a serious little chat with Lester Santos.

Hector once again parked next to Lester's Mustang. Before getting out of the car, Hector took my hand and said, "Estephania, are you alright?"

I nodded my head. "Yes, I'm fine." I replied and squeezed his hand. I wasn't fine and Denial Land was looking better all the time.

He smiled, got out of the car and came around to help me out. Bridget and Lester were waiting on us again. This time, Hector took my hand and laced our fingers together as we walked over to them.

Before Lester could say anything, I poked him in the chest and said, "Don't say a word."

Lester tried to look innocent and said, "What? What did I do?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "You are such a brat, Santos!"

"I'm hurt, Beautiful!" he whined.

I couldn't help but laugh at him.

Hector opened the door to the club for us and then placed his hand at my back guiding me inside. We headed toward some empty tables away from the crowd on the dance floor. Just as we pulled two tables together, we were joined by Bobby and Gina. Lester flagged down a waitress and placed our orders for a couple pitchers of beer.

I leaned in as we sat down and reminded Hector, "Remember, don't let me get stupid. We need to talk."

Lester was watching us closely and then asked, "You keeping the Porsche, Beautiful? And what's going on with you two?" He waggled his finger back and forth at us.

"As long as I can get away with it," I shot back at him. "And none of your business." Bobby laughed and the girls just looked at me.

"You have a Porsche?" Gina asked.

"I do for now. Until it explodes," I said with a shrug. Our pitchers had arrived and I took a long drink of my beer.

Bridget's eyes widened and she asked, "You're the Bombshell Bounty Hunter?"

"Unfortunately, yeah," I replied. "But it's not my fault."

"Oh, my God! I've always wanted to meet you!" Bridget exclaimed. "I've heard so much about you!" She swatted Lester on the arm, "Why didn't you tell me you worked with her?"

Lester shrugged, "Well, we're kind of used to her. After a few car explosions and apartment fires, it gets old."

I stood up and glared at him. "You. On the dance floor. Now!" I ordered him.

Lester jumped up and said "Yes, ma'am!" He followed me to the dance floor.

The song was a slow one and Lester pulled me tight to his chest. I smacked his shoulder and warned him, "Watch it, horndog." He wagged his eyebrows at me.

Lester really is a good dancer and apparently, he can dance and talk at the same time. "So, what's going on, Steph? Ranger's gone and something bad happened between you two. Tank wouldn't tell us anything. Do you want to talk about it?"

I sighed and put my head on his shoulder. "Ranger and Rachel are getting married. She's pregnant."

He jerked his head back. "Holy shit, Steph. I'm so sorry. I had no idea. Tank just said Ranger was leaving and taking over Miami." Lester hugged me tighter and pressed his lips to my forehead. "Are you OK?"

I hugged Lester's neck and sighed. "I'm OK now. I was so angry at first but the more I've thought about it, the more I know we could never be in a forever kind of thing. We tried. We really did. And it was great while it lasted. But it would have never been the let's get married and have kids thing. I really don't want to talk about him anymore tonight."

"So what's going on with Hector?" he asked.

"I don't know! He came and brought me home from Point Pleasant yesterday. He took care of me last night when I had a meltdown over Ranger. He stayed with me all night and he's been really, um, attentive." I replied.

"Yeah, I noticed that," Lester said. "Is he bothering you?"

"Actually, no. I feel comfortable with him. It's really confusing me, though."

"Why's that?" Lester asked.

"You told me he was gay. He hasn't been acting gay with me at all! Quite the opposite and it's driving me crazy! What makes you think he's gay?" I said.

Lester lowered his head against mine so that no one else could hear him. "A few years ago, a bunch of us were at Shorty's. None of us had been around Hector much because, well, he's Hector. He came in with another guy and they joined us. He introduced him as Eduardo. They seemed tight with each other. Nothing flagrant but there was a connection. He and Eduardo left before we did but we could see them in the parking lot. Hector hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Eduardo hugged him and then left. Nobody wanted to ask Hector about it at work. I mean, the man is terrifying! We've all done some pretty bad shit but he's something else with his gang background and all. We all just assumed he was gay and with Eduardo. We were afraid he'd kill us or something."

I stifled a laugh and said, "You were afraid of him? You big badass Special Forces guys?"

"Hell, yeah, Steph. Look at him. You're the only one he really talks to. He acts almost normal around you."

"He _is_ normal. I never treated him like he was a freak. The tattoos are scary, I know. He has been so good to me. I want to be with him. And I don't think he's gay. You can't tell anyone but I'm about ready to jump his ass!"

"Whoa, Beautiful! _You_ horndog!" Lester wagged his eyebrows at me. I smacked him on the arm again.

"You can't tell anyone! Promise me!" I pleaded.

Lester spun me around on the dance floor and pulled me tight against him again. His lips were at my ear and he whispered, "I won't say anything, Steph. But if I'd known you were single, I would have been at your door in a heartbeat."

"She is mine. Yours is over there." Hector had appeared at my side. Lester hugged me and released me into Hector's arms. He turned to go back to our tables but stopped and glared at Hector.

"If you hurt her, I'll kill you," Lester growled and kept walking.

Hector pulled me close as the music started up again. He put his hand low at the small of my back, pressing my hips into his, swaying with the music. I put both my hands on the back of his neck and pressed my head into his shoulder. He kissed my cheek and I moaned. His other hand moved to my side caressing my breast lightly and then to my waist and back up again. I lifted my head slightly and he dipped his head and kissed me deeply.

"Dios, querida! I want to take you right here!" Hector groaned against my lips. He kissed me again and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. My stomach flip-flopped and I ruined my panties. It had suddenly gotten _very_ hot in the club.

"I think I need a beer," I whispered. He wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me back to our table. It was a good thing he had a good grip on me or I may have just melted into a puddle at his feet.

Lester and Bridget had just returned from dancing and he was holding a chair for her. As I passed Lester, he wagged his eyebrows at me and said, "Jesus, Steph, get a room."

We sat down and I quickly drained my beer. Hector raised his eyebrow at me and poured me another. "I'm OK," I said. "I think."

Bobby was telling a story about Ram getting shot while taking down a skip. Ram could take a bullet but not a needle. He passed out as soon as Bobby touched him with the pain killer. Then Lester told about how I had stunned Hal with his own stun gun. More stories followed and, thankfully not all of them were about me or my cars blowing up.

Everyone was laughing when I felt something off. My spidey sense was on full alert and I looked up. There were three men walking past our table. The one in the middle raised his hand, formed a gun with his fingers and pretended to take a shot at me.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth.

"What is it, querida?" Hector asked me and then followed my gaze toward the men. Hector's eyes darkened. His hand reached behind his back for his gun.

"Hernandez." he said. I nodded and buried my face in his neck.

"How did he get out again? There were enough charges against him to keep him locked up forever!" I cried.

Mario Hernandez was a skip that Hector and I went after two months ago. He was wanted on assault and attempted murder charges. His wife had found out he was having an affair. They got into a knock down drag out fight and she had him arrested. We had located him at his girlfriend's apartment. He wasn't known to be violent unless he was drunk. I went in first and tried the usual 'you need to come with me and get re-bonded' crap. Hernandez grabbed me and pulled me into the apartment and pressed a gun to my head.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, bitch!" he shouted. He swung his arm and the back of his hand slammed into my cheek. I started to fall when he curled his hand around my arm and roughly pulled me against him. I could smell the alcohol on his breath as I fumbled for my stun gun in my purse. He jerked my purse out of my hands and threw it to the floor.

Hector had silently entered the apartment through the back and came up behind Hernandez, his gun to the back of Hernandez's head.

"Drop the gun," Hector had said menacingly. "Let her go." He continued in Spanish which I'm pretty sure included some rather explicit language.

Hernandez dropped his gun and Hector pulled me from Hernandez's grip and pushed me behind him, shielding me with his body. He shoved Hernandez to the floor, and jammed his knee into his back. Hector cuffed him and stood up. His boot happened to connect with Hernandez's ribs. A couple of times. Ooops.

"Wait here," Hector ordered me.

Then he dragged Hernandez out the door and secured him into the back of our SUV.

Hector came back into the apartment and carefully brushed my hair back to look at my cheek. He gently kissed it and whispered in Spanish. I wish I knew what he had said. He went into the kitchen, grabbed a towel and some ice from the freezer. He wrapped the towel around the ice and came back to me.

"Hold this against your cheek, querida." He said softly. He put his arm around me and guided me to the truck and helped me into the passenger seat.

I stayed in the truck while Hector took Hernandez into the cop shop and got our body receipt. Hector rushed me to RangeMan and had Bobby look at my cheek. It wasn't broken but the bruise I sported for days hurt like hell. It was too bad Hernandez was behind bars or I'm sure he would have vanished from the face of the earth.

I shuddered at the memory and Hector drew me into his side. "You want to leave?" he asked.

Lester had reached behind his back and Bobby had reached inside his sport coat. All the guys were 'dressed' and I had no doubt they would have taken Hernandez down if he had made a move toward me.

"Yes, I got tired all of a sudden," I said, blowing out the breath I didn't know I was holding.

We said our goodbyes to everyone and left the club. Hector kept me close to his body and I knew he was scanning the parking lot for Hernandez. Jeez! I hated being the 'weaker sex' but at times like this, I was grateful for Hector's protection. As he buckled me into the Porsche, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Lester and Bobby were standing in the shadows.

The drive back to my apartment was quiet. I knew Hector was in a zone as he drove. He reached over and pulled my hand into his and kissed the back of my hand. He laced our fingers together and held my hand against his thigh. I closed my eyes and let my head sink back into the soft leather seat.

Once we got back to my apartment, as usual, Hector swept it for threats and quickly pulled me into the living room. Once inside, I blew out a deep breath and sank into my couch. I buried my head in my hands.

"Estephania, what is it?" Hector came over to me, sat down and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"I can't believe Hernandez was there. Why does this always happen to me? Everything was going so well," I wailed.

"Querida, I will kill him if he tries to hurt you."

"You can't go around and kill everyone who threatens me!" I wiggled out of his arms and began pacing the floor. "I don't know what is going on with us but it's driving me crazy! You're getting all possessive and kissing me and…and making me _want_ you! And then you ask what if I was _pregnant_ and what if it was with _you_! And then you say you are the right man for me! You're gay!"

"You _want_ me?" Hector asked.

I stopped waving my arms around and stared at him. "What? That's all you got from that?"

Hector grinned. "I am gay?"

"That's what Lester told me a couple of years ago! Hell, I thought that's why Ranger always put us together! So I would be _safe_ with you! And how can you be so calm when I'm freaking out here?"

He had the nerve to just smile at me. "Come. Let's go to bed," he said and stood up. "We can talk in there." He took my hand and led me to the bedroom. He flipped on the lamp on the nightstand. He removed his gun and laid it down followed by his cell phone.

I slipped off my sandals and tossed them into the closet. I reached behind my neck and fumbled with the zipper on my dress. Hector came up behind me and brushed my hands to the side. He pushed my hair out of the way and unzipped my dress. He slid the dress off my shoulders and let it fall to my feet. I stepped out of it and he tossed it over the chair next to the bed. He unfastened my bra and laid it on the dresser. I turned around to face him, staring into his now darkened eyes.

He picked up his t-shirt from the dresser and slipped it over my head. I let him pull my arms through the sleeves. Wordlessly, I unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders. I tossed it on top of my dress. He kicked off his shoes and then unzipped his jeans and threw them in the vicinity of the chair. Then I wrapped my arms around his waist and laid my head against his shoulder. He put his arms around me, pulling me tight to his chest.

We stood there in each other's arms for several minutes. Then Hector pulled back slightly and nudged me toward the bathroom. "Go, get finished up," he said and swatted me on the butt. Shit! When did big, strong, scary-ass Hector become so playful?

I turned my head and tried to glare at him but ended up grinning instead. "Ass," I muttered.

"Yeah, but it is a nice ass," he shot back.

No shit, I thought to myself. I grabbed a pair of my boxers from my dresser and shut myself in the bathroom. I took care of business and brushed my teeth. I swapped out my ruined panties for my boxers and headed back to the bedroom. Hector was sitting on the edge of the bed playing with his phone. I sucked in a breath and bit my lip. God, he was gorgeous!

He glanced up and said, "Bobby was checking to see if we got home OK." He put his phone on the nightstand and went into the bathroom. I tried to swat his butt when he walked by. He swiveled his hips to the side and I missed.

I got into bed and scooted over to my side. Wait a minute. My side? We had sides?

Hector came back to the bedroom and slid into bed beside me. He pulled me into his arms and I cuddled against his side. He felt so warm and strong against my body. I melted. I never wanted him to leave, gay or not.

"Now tell me what Lester told you," he said, rubbing circles on my back with his fingers.

I sighed. "He said a few years ago a bunch of the guys were at Shorty's and you came in with another man, Eduardo. He said you and Eduardo seemed really close and they saw you hug and kiss him. They assumed you were gay and never said anything because they were scared of you." I just blurted everything out in a rush and held my breath.

Hector started to laugh. "They have fought for our country and they were scared of me?"

I raised my head and smacked his shoulder. "_Who_ is Eduardo?"

Hector chuckled and pulled me closer. "Eduardo is my brother. He was leaving for his first tour the next day. I did not want the guys to know. I was afraid they would tell him too many stories from their missions."

I rose up to my knees and cupped his head in my hands. "Eduardo is your _brother_? All this time I thought you were gay?" I was going to squash Lester's balls with my bare hands.

"Estephania, mi amor, I do not want a man. I want only you." Hector said. He pulled me down into his arms.

I didn't know what to say. I left a rocky relationship with Joe and moved on to _something_ with Ranger. Ranger left me and now Hector, my partner, who turns out is not only _NOT_ gay, but was telling me he _wanted_ me. And men say women are confusing?

He was placing little kisses on my forehead, my cheek and neck. Classic distraction moves. And it was working. I moaned and said, "We still need to talk."

"Uh huh," Hector murmured. He flipped me onto my back. His lips crashed on mine and he nipped my lips, plunging his tongue into my mouth. He was resting on one arm and his other hand slipped under my t-shirt. He caressed my breasts and moved his lips to my neck, tasting me and marking me as his. My stomach flip-flopped and my belly was on fire. I clutched his arms and pushed my hips against his and moaned again.

Just when I thought I couldn't remember my own name, Hector pulled back. I was breathless and I whimpered involuntarily.

"I am sorry, Estephania. I did not mean for this to happen tonight," he said.

I shook my head furiously. "No, no, it's OK! I want this!" I pulled at his shoulders to bring his head back to mine. I wanted more of this man. So much more! Now!

"Are you sure?" he asked and kissed me softly.

"Yes! Please!" I gasped.

He lifted the hem of my t-shirt so I sat up slightly and lifted my arms over my head so he could remove it. His hand moved across each of my breasts and he sucked at my now hard nipples. Then his hand traveled down my stomach, and caressed my belly. I lifted my hips and he slid my boxers down my legs and tossed them to the floor. I tugged at his boxers and he shifted slightly and helped me remove them. I tossed them to the floor.

He nudged one thigh between mine and I could feel him throbbing against my leg. His lips met mine and I felt my head spin. I curled my fingers in his hair and whimpered as he kissed me deeply. I began to writhe and my hands moved across his chest and down to his hips and lower. I stroked him and he groaned.

"Oh, God! Hector, please!" I cried.

"Please what, querida?" His lips traveled to my belly and then he kissed the inside of my thighs before he licked between my legs and thrust his tongue inside.

"Please, make love to me!" I was panting and my hips were grinding against him.

He kissed my belly again. He rose up on his arms and centered himself over me. As my legs spread open to welcome him, I could feel him pressing against my center. He lowered his head and kissed me again, his tongue dancing with mine. He reached between my legs and his fingers probed my core. He inserted one finger and then two and rubbed them rhythmically against my clit.

"Estephania, Dios, you are so wet!" he gasped. He moved forward and I felt his cock slide into me. I arched my back and wrapped my legs around his hips to allow him better access.

I moaned when Hector thrust deeper into me. I could feel him touch my cervix and I thought I would pass out from the explosion of pleasure. Never before had I been filled so completely.

I began to quiver as the heat intensified between us. I cried out with each wave of ecstasy until I grasped Hector's shoulders and cried his name as my muscles clenched around him and I began to shake. He drove into me harder, groaning my name. He pumped once again and fell against me.

Tears filled my eyes. "I love you, Hector," I whispered. "I love you."

"I love you, Estephania. I love you with all of my heart," he said softly.

Hector kissed me gently and rolled to get his weight off me and pulled me against his chest. His arms circled around me and I draped my leg over his. I rested my head on his shoulder and caressed his cheek. It took a good five minutes before we were able to breathe normally.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

"I forgot," I said meekly and buried my face in his neck.

"Maybe I can help you remember," he said, flipping me onto my back again.

An hour later, I still couldn't remember.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Estephania, querida." Soft kisses were tickling my shoulder.

I blinked my eyes, coming awake slowly. I raised my head and looked into the most gorgeous brown eyes ever. I was sprawled across Hector's chest and he was grinning at me.

"G'morning," I mumbled and pushed my hair out of my face.

"I need to get up," he said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" I rolled off of him and tried to sit up. He reached over and pulled my head to his and kissed me thoroughly before he slid out of the bed.

I stared as his naked ass disappeared into the bathroom. I licked my lips and closed my eyes. Holy crap! I was in love with Hector. I told him I loved him and it didn't scare me at all. I couldn't say it to Joe and I was afraid to say it to Ranger. Joe had loved me but Joe's love was controlling. Ranger said he loved me but his love was fueled by passion.

But with Hector, it was so easy to just say it and mean it. And he said he loved me. Tears sprang into my eyes. He was right. He is the right man for me.

Hector came back into the bedroom and slid into the bed next to me. I gulped and slid out from under the covers.

"I need to go," I whispered and crawled out of bed.

Once in the bathroom, I took care of things. I almost shrieked when I looked in the mirror. My hair was a mass of tangles. But my cheeks were definitely pinker than usual. Yup, I look mighty satisfied. I ran my fingers through my hair to try to tame it.

I tried to smother my grin when I padded back to the bed. I crawled under the covers and snuggled into Hector's arms.

He sat up pulling me with him. "Estephania, querida. I think we should talk about last night. When I said I love you, I meant every word. I have loved you from the moment I met you. I always kept to myself before you started coming around. Then you came into my life and made me want to be with you. I need to know if you meant it when you said you love me. I need to know if you are ready to move on, with me, and let go of Ranger. If you need more time, I will understand."

I took a deep breath and tried to sort out all the thoughts flying through my head. "Hector, I did mean it. I have been so afraid of really loving anyone. I used every excuse I could think of with Morelli to not say it. We were such good friends for so long but I wasn't in love with him."

"What about Ranger?" he asked. His voice was low and soft and he was rubbing my shoulder absently.

I took another deep breath. "I think I was in love with the _idea_ of being in love with him. I fell for everything about him. He was the man of mystery, he was Batman. You know how he is. Always so in control of everything. He took care of me and gave me everything I wanted. Except himself. There was always that piece missing. That is what hurt the most."

I turned and straddled Hector. He placed his hands on my hips and I put my hands on his shoulders. I looked into his dark eyes. "There are no pieces missing with you, Hector. I never realized it but all the time we have spent together the last couple of years, you have shown me that you love me. You are the most dangerous man I know but you have been so kind and gentle with me. You have always been there for me and protected me. When I've made a mess of things and want to fall apart, you know just how to calm me down."

I moved my hand and caressed his face, tracing the teardrop tattoos. "I never knew how much I needed you in my life. I never knew how much I cared about you. I never knew how much I loved you."

I leaned forward and kissed him, softly at first then I teased his lips with my tongue. He wrapped his arms tightly around me and returned my kiss, his tongue playing with mine. I became aware of just how much I was teasing him when I felt his cock throb against my ass.

"Querida, you need to get off my lap or I cannot be responsible for what I want to do to you," Hector growled, his lips were pressed against mine. "I have held my love for you for a long time. I have never wanted anything more than I want you right now."

I sucked in a breath. "As much as I want to do whatever it is that you are thinking about, I think we need to wait. I need to get used to this boyfriend thing," I grinned at him. I kissed him again and slowly slid off his lap.

He rolled onto his stomach and let out a groan. I began to rub his shoulders. He groaned again. God, I loved touching this man.

"That feels so good, querida. I could lay here forever and have you rub my back."

I leaned over and kissed his shoulder. I continued to stroke his back and found myself concentrating on his tattoo. Those eyes were watching me again. Hector was making little moaning sounds.

"It sounds like you are purring," I said as I kneaded his shoulders and down his back to where it narrowed at his waist.

"Maybe I am", he replied lazily.

I leaned over and kissed his tattoo and let my hands wander up and down his body. I laid my head down on his back and murmured, "Mmmmm, you're a good kitty." My head started bouncing as Hector laughed.

He rolled over and pulled me onto his chest.

"Querida, I would like for you to meet my mother. I need to upgrade the software in her alarm system. Will you go with me today?"

For a brief second, I panicked. Meet his mother? By Burg standards, meeting his mother meant we were engaged.

I tipped my head back and looked at him. "Yes, I would like to go with you." Again, I shocked myself. With anyone else, I would have run in the opposite direction.

Hector kissed me and said, "Take your shower and I will call mama and let her know we are coming."

I rolled off of him and headed for the bathroom. Once I was squeaky clean and securely wrapped in towels, I padded back into the bedroom.

Hector was standing by the dresser, naked. He turned to me and grinned. "Is there someplace I can put my stuff so I am not making a mess on the dresser?"

I blushed from the fact that he was just standing there and acting like having a conversation, while stark ass naked, was a normal thing.

My eyes immediately went to his crotch. Shit! Stop that! I bit my lip and sucked in a breath. "Um, yeah." I pulled my eyes from his body and opened the top drawer on the right. It was almost empty. I had cleaned out some old jeans and sweats a few weeks ago. The only thing in it was an old sweatshirt from college that I couldn't bear to toss out. I took it out and stuffed into the bottom drawer.

"There," I said. "All yours." I was trying desperately not to look down at him again. Hector grinned at me.

He stepped toward me and wrapped his arms around me. "I love you, querida."

I slipped my arms around his waist and looked up into his face. "I love you, too." I grinned at him, "I mean I just gave you your own drawer!"

Hector kissed my forehead. "I might need some room in the closet, too."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Hector opened the door of the SUV for me and helped me get in. I buckled my seatbelt as he went around to the driver side and slid into his seat. He turned to me and took my hand. He kissed the back of it as was becoming his habit.

"You sure you are OK with this?" he asked. "I know you must be nervous."

I smiled at him and said, "I'm sure. Normally I would be terrified but it feels so good to be with you. I'm not nervous about meeting your mother. I just hope she likes me."

He kissed my hand again and then buckled his seatbelt.

"She will love you, querida," he said as he started the SUV.

Hector drove out of my lot and turned the opposite direction from the Burg. I relaxed. Good. We're not going anywhere close to my family. I did the mental eye roll. My family. I had endured my mother's ranting about Morelli, my lifestyle and her outright distaste for Ranger long enough. If she thought Ranger was a thug, wait till she gets a load of Hector. This could be fun!

Right on cue, my cell phone rang. Caller ID showed my mother. I ignored the call and turned my phone off. I dropped it back into my purse. No doubt she would leave a message demanding I come over for dinner. Nope. Not happening.

"My mother," I said to Hector. "There is no way in hell I'm talking to her right now. I'm sure someone has seen me with you and her phone is ringing off the hook. She's probably ironing the floor by now."

Hector laughed. He knew I wasn't exaggerating. All the guys knew how my mother treated me and none of them could tolerate her crassness. Knowing that and finally accepting their support has helped me just block her out. I was no longer taking her crap.

A few minutes later, Hector turned into an older Trenton neighborhood. It was so different than the Burg. The Burg was stifling. Everyone hid behind their curtains, spying on each other and then calling each other to gossip.

This neighborhood was open and welcoming. The houses were spaced further apart than what I was used to. Doors and windows were open. Front lawns were green and there were children playing in the yards or in the street. I saw that most everyone was Hispanic. My stomach fluttered a little. White girl from the Burg is gonna stick out like a sore thumb.

Hector pulled into the drive of a two-story house with a covered porch that ran the whole width of the house. There was a porch swing and a couple of chairs on the porch. There were flowers bordering the yard and in pots on the porch.

And there it was…..a white picket fence.

OK, _now_ I was nervous. I made a little strangled noise and Hector immediately took my hand in his.

"Estephania. Mi amor, calm down. Look at me," he said.

I turned my head and stared at him with wide eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered. "I think I'm a little scared now."

He smiled and tucked a curl behind my ear. He pulled me close to him and began softly speaking in Spanish. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I calmed instantly. This man was like a drug to me. I opened my eyes and smiled at him.

"Ready now?" he asked.

I nodded. "Si, mi amor….man," I said and then giggled.

Hector laughed out loud. "You are amazing, Estephania. I love you so much."

"I love you, too," I said and smiled shyly at him.

He got out of the SUV and came around to open my door and helped me slide out. His hands lingered on my hips and he kissed me gently.

I was startled by a rapid barrage of Spanish.

"Mama," Hector said turning to the source.

A stunningly beautiful, slender Hispanic woman opened her arms to him. She was wearing jeans and a simple blouse. Her black hair was piled on top of her head with a few strands escaping around her face.

Hector hugged her and they spoke quietly in Spanish. All the while, she was peeking around his shoulder and smiling at me.

Hector made the introductions, "Mama, this is Estephania. Querida, this is my mother, Elana."

I smiled at her and extended my hand. "I am so happy to meet you, Mrs. Aguila," I said.

She ignored my hand and instead pulled me into a warm embrace. "Do not call me Mrs. Aguila. Please call me mama like everyone else." She leaned back, her hands on my shoulders, and smiled. "So you are my Hector's Estephania. I am pleased to finally meet you."

She turned and took my hand, leading me to the porch. "Come inside. I have some iced tea made."

The inside of the house was beautiful. Of course, it was immaculate. Hardwood floors, bright colors on the walls, big comfortable furniture. It looked lived in and loved. Mama led the way to the kitchen. Hector placed his hand at my hip and guided me through arched doorway.

I was surprised at the kitchen. It was open, full of sunlight with stainless steel appliances and oiled soapstone counter tops. Nothing like the cramped, outdated and dark kitchens in the Burg.

Hector pulled a barstool out for me and himself at the kitchen island. Mama poured glasses of tea for all of us and set them down.

"This kitchen is beautiful, mama," I said, surprising myself at calling her mama.

"I thank Hector for that. He has remodeled the whole house for me," she said and patted his arm. "He enlarged the large porch on the front. It is one of my favorite places to sit and enjoy my flowers."

"This used to be a single story house," Hector said. "Once I started working at RangeMan, I was able to build a second story apartment. There is a separate entrance but there is still access to the first floor in the next room. At the time we added on, we thought mama could rent out the upstairs if she wanted."

"Excuse me, but I need to put laundry in the dryer. Show Estephania the rest of the house and then come out to the porch so we can visit," mama said.

Hector got up and put our empty tea glasses in the sink. He walked me through the first floor, showing me the master bedroom suite. He had enlarged the room and added the bathroom during the remodel. There were two other bedrooms that shared a bathroom. One of the rooms was his brother's, made obvious by the masculine décor, sports equipment and pictures of a younger version of Hector in uniform.

"Eduardo is supposed to be home by Christmas. He has not decided if he will re-enlist. I am hoping he will end his contract and come to work at RangeMan," Hector said. "Can you imagine what Lester will think?"

I giggled. "Too bad you've been 'outed'!"

Hector backed me against the wall and pressed his hips into mine. "Si, it is too bad." He kissed me deeply and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He placed his hands on the wall on either side of my head. He tilted his head and placed soft kisses on my neck, then my lips and then the other side of my neck.

"Ohhh, geez," I groaned. "You need to stop. Mama will come looking for us!"

He kissed me again and said, "I do not think she will mind. She has been asking for more grandchildren."

"What?" I squeaked. My eyes widened.

Hector tipped his head back and laughed. "I am serious. My sister was married three years ago and only has one son. Mama wants more babies to spoil."

I glared at him. "We're going to have to _talk_ again!"

He laughed again, "Si. But not now. Come, I want to show you the apartment," he said and pulled me back into the living room.

I followed him through the kitchen again and into a mud room. There was a door to the back yard. He opened a door off to the side and revealed stairs to the second floor.

"This is the access for the apartment from inside," he explained.

He started up the stairs and I followed him. There was a small foyer that opened into a living room and dining room combination. I could see a kitchen to the side and a short hallway on the other side. He led me into the hallway and into a spacious bedroom.

"I stay here when I want to get away from RangeMan. This is quiet and comfortable. There is a bathroom over here and a walk-in closet on this side."

I know my mouth was open in awe. There was a large jetted tub and a separate shower with glass doors. The cabinets were a dark cherry wood. One sink occupied one end of the ample counter. I peeked in the closet. Several RangeMan uniforms were hanging in there along with some other clothes. Most of the closet was empty.

Hector led me back into the living room and over to French doors. He opened them and revealed a small deck and stairs down to the backyard.

"This is the private entrance," he said and turned to the right. "The kitchen is through there."

The kitchen was a smaller version of the one downstairs. Cherry cabinets and the soapstone counters. All of the furniture in the apartment was large and comfy looking. A flat screen TV was on one wall in the living room. There was a stone fireplace in the corner. I kept thinking I could be very content here. Mental head slap!

"Hector, this apartment is beautiful. You have done a wonderful job building this. Why would you even stay at RangeMan when you could be here?" I asked.

He shrugged slightly. "I try to stay here as much as I can. But there are times I need to be at RangeMan to make sure the systems are running smoothly. There is another application I am installing and will be able to check things remotely from here. I am glad you like it. I could keep you up here all day." He grinned at me. "But we should go back downstairs so I can get mama's system upgraded."

Hector closed up the apartment and we headed downstairs. I went out to the front porch while Hector sat down at the desk in the living room. He retrieved a zip drive from his pocket and popped it into her computer.

Mama was sitting in one of the chairs on the porch with a gardening magazine. She looked up and smiled when I joined her and sat on the porch swing.

Mama laid down the magazine and reached over to me, placing her hand over mine. "Tell me, do you love my son as much as he loves you?"

Well, so much for small talk! "Yes," I said. "I love him very much. This is all very new. I don't know what he has told you, but I do love him."

"What did you think of the apartment, Estephania?" she asked.

"It's beautiful. I had no idea Hector could build something like this. He has done a wonderful job with the remodels. He is a very special man," I dropped my eyes and blushed.

"He built the apartment for you," mama said. "He told me the apartment was for his querida. It has taken me a year to get him to talk about you. You were not his but he told me that one day you would be."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Oh, my God. He built the apartment for me?

Hector stepped out of the front door onto the porch. He looked at me and then at mama and back to me. He looked at me questioningly. I stared at him.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" he asked.

I let out a breath and smiled at him, "No, you did something right." I held out a hand to him.

He walked over to the porch swing and sat close to me. He put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close and kissed my forehead. "What is that, querida?"

"Mama said you built the apartment for me," I said quietly. "Why?"

Hector squeezed my shoulder and glared at his mother. "Mama talks too much."

Mama snickered and excused herself. She went back into the house leaving us alone.

"When I started working on the house, I wanted to make it bigger and nicer for my family. The idea of having a separate apartment for me made sense. There were times I did not want to stay at RangeMan. Times when they needed me back on the street for intel or surveillance. I still know a lot of people."

He paused and I asked him, "What does that have to do with me?"

"When we became partners, I started to make the apartment into a place for you. Where you live is unsafe and too many bad things have happened there. I knew you and Morelli would never last and I hated Ranger for the way he always left you. A man does not walk away from the woman he loves."

I turned toward Hector and wrapped my arms around his chest. He was right about bad things happening in my apartment. Dead people for one. I kissed his cheek and asked, "You cared that much about me all this time?"

"Si. I tried hard to keep my love for you hidden. It amuses me to know the guys thought I was gay." He looked at me and his eyes twinkled mischievously.

I smacked his chest. "You are so bad!"

"I know. But I got the girl!" he laughed.

"Estephania? Hector? Would you like to stay for dinner?" Mama had come to the porch.

Hector raised his eyebrows at me. I nodded. If mama cooked anything like Hector, dinner would be great.

"Good," mama said, as if no was not an option. "Hector, is my computer done?"

"I will check, mama," Hector said. It struck me funny that former gang member bad ass Hector obeyed his mother.

"Good," she said again. "I want to show Estephania my flowers."

Hector stood and went into the house. Mama came over to me when I stood and hooked her arm through mine. We descended the front steps and mama guided me to the flower beds.

"Mama, these are really beautiful. How do you do it?" I asked. My mother rarely stepped foot in the yard, yet alone grow such beautiful flowers.

"My mama loved to garden," mama said. "I learned by watching her and my abuela. My grandmother."

Mama led me around the yard and pointed out each kind of flower by name. I marveled at how she knew each of them by name. My knowledge of flowers was limited to daisy or lily. The only time I saw flowers was at Stiva's funeral home with Grandma Mazur.

"Would you teach me about the flowers, mama?" I asked her.

"That would make me very happy, Estephania," she smiled and gave me a hug.

I became aware of a few people in the neighborhood watching us. "Mama, am I the only white person here?" I asked her.

Mama laughed and squeezed my arm. "No, there are others. No one cares the color of your skin here. But you _are_ the first woman Hector has brought home."

She waved to the woman across the street and launched into Spanish. I recognized Estephania, Hector and amor. Oh, dear. Maybe this was like the Burg after all.

"Mama, when is Hector's birthday?" I asked. I don't know where that came from but then everything in the last few days was a surprise to me.

"He turned 27 on April 25," Mama said. "When is your birthday, Estephania?"

Wow. Hector was five years younger than me. Almost six. What would people think? I bit my lip and looked at the smiling woman beside me and suddenly felt at ease.

"I will be 33 in October. The 12th. Is that bad? If I am older than Hector?" I sucked in a breath. My mother would be having a hissy fit.

"No, that is perfect, my child. Your age difference will be in your favor. Trust me." Mama said. She actually rolled her eyes!

Holy crap! I just got what mama said. Grandma Mazur was a few years older than Grandpa. For years I had ignored her comments about hormones and _stuff_.

Just then, Hector called from the porch. "Mama, your computer is ready. Please bring my Estephania back to me. I do not want to scare her away."

We walked back to the porch and Hector held the door open for us.

"What do I need to know about my computer and alarm?" Mama asked him.

"Everything operates the same as before. I just upgraded the system and it will be faster now," Hector said.

"You need to give Estephania the code for the alarm," mama looked at him slyly. "It will be easy for her to remember."

I glanced at Hector and he was actually blushing. This day was just getting better and better! Mama was so much fun to be around. She had a real mischievous streak! I don't know why I needed the code but hey, OK, I'll bite.

"Why?" I asked innocently. "Why do I need the code and why will it be easy to remember?"

"Estephania, you will need the code when you…" mama started but Hector stopped her.

"Querida, the code is 10120425. This is another one of those things we will talk about…later," he said.

I smothered a smirk and smiled sweetly at him. The code was our birthdays. At first I thought 'how did he know' but then, duh, Hector has access to everything in the RangeMan systems. After all, he installed them. With one keystroke, he could take down the entire company. Maybe the entire country.

Mama began busying herself in the kitchen. We tried to help but she just shooed us out of the way. "There is a pitcher of margaritas in the refrigerator. Help yourselves and go out and sit on the patio."

Hector took some glasses out of a cabinet and poured three drinks from the pitcher. He picked up two and nodded his head toward the patio door.

I opened the door for us and stepped out onto a flagstone patio. I took one glass from Hector and sat down in one of the chairs at the patio table. Hector sat down next to me. "The next project may be an outdoor kitchen. Mama likes to entertain her friends and it would be nice when our family is all here," he said.

"This is so nice here, Hector. It is so different from my parents' house. You know how I hate going there but this is just so relaxing and comfortable. I love mama. She's wonderful. I always wanted Ella to adopt me but now I'm thinking I want mama to adopt me!" I laughed and sipped my margarita.

"Querida, you do not have to be adopted to be part of the family," he said, his eyes darkening.

I stared at him over the rim of my glass and took a large drink of the margarita.

"Hector, get the door please!" Mama called from the kitchen.

Mama had plates on a large platter, silverware and napkins. She also had the pitcher of margaritas.

Hector helped set the plates down and the pitcher. I took the other things and set the table. No one ever ate outside in the Burg. No one had a patio. The Burg was stuck in a time warp.

Mama refilled our glasses and then sat down. She lifted her glass for a toast. We clinked our glasses together and mama said, "Thank you for coming here today and bringing Estephania, Hector. I am very happy to finally meet the woman who has stolen my son."

It was my turn to blush. Hector said nothing but leaned over and kissed my forehead.

For the next two hours, we talked, laughed, ate and mama and I killed the pitcher of margaritas. Hector had switched to water halfway through dinner. I yawned and apologized profusely to mama.

"Thank you for everything, mama," Hector said, getting up. "I think you have worn out my querida."

We cleaned up the table and took everything inside. Mama loaded the dishwasher. "Estephania, come back any time you wish. You do not have to wait for this one to bring you."

I hugged her and promised to come back. We said our goodbyes and Hector helped me into the SUV and buckled my seatbelt. He kissed me gently and then went around and got in the driver side.

I reached over for his hand and he took it to kiss the back of it. "Thank you for today, Hector," I said softly.

The next thing I knew, Hector was carrying me into my bedroom. He sat me down on the edge of the bed and knelt to pull off my shoes. I reached out and ran my fingers through his hair. He raised his head and gazed into my eyes. I pulled his head to mine and kissed him. In a matter of seconds, I was on my back, naked with a naked Hector nuzzling my neck.

"I love you, Hector," whispered, my eyes filling with tears.

"I love you, Estephania."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 13

The next morning, I woke up to light streaming in from the windows. I was burrowed into my pillow and a very warm Hector was spooning me, his arms wrapped tightly around me. I raised my head and looked over my shoulder at him. He opened his eyes and gave me a sleepy smile. Hector in the morning was irresistible. His hair was mussed and his eyes were warm and soft. I could feel his erection against my ass. It had to be a guy thing.

"Morning," I murmured.

I wiggled out of his grip and took care of business in the bathroom. When I came back to the bedroom Hector got out of bed. He cupped my shoulder as we passed each other and placed a soft kiss on my cheek.

"Morning," he said, his voice husky from sleep and went into the bathroom.

I put on his t-shirt and some sweats and headed out to the kitchen. I started a pot of coffee. I fed Rex and made sure he had water.

Hector padded into the kitchen. He was barefoot and shirtless but he had put on some sweats. He walked over to the cupboard and took two mugs out. I poured him a cup of coffee and then one for myself. Mine, of course, had lots of sugar and milk. He took his mug, added a little milk and went into the living room. I followed him, glad that I wasn't the only one who needed coffee and a few minutes to be able to function in the morning.

He sat down on the couch and turned his back to the arm, stretching his legs out on the couch. He spread his legs and patted the space between them. I sat down and scooted so that I could lean against his chest and put my legs between his. We sat like that, enjoying our coffee and the closeness until our mugs were empty.

"You want to go for a drive, querida?" Hector placed his head against mine, his lips brushed my ear.

I turned my head slightly and said, "Sure, any place in mind?"

"It has been a long time but I'd like to go to the zoo in Philadelphia. Mama used to take us there when we were kids. It was one of my favorite places. I would like to take you there."

I sat up and smiled at him, "That sounds great. I'd love to go. You want to do breakfast here or get something on the way?"

"Something on the way. You probably have not had enough sugar yet," he grinned at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him and picked up our mugs and hopped off the couch. I took the mugs to the sink and rinsed them out and put them in the sink.

We headed for the bedroom and Hector flopped onto the bed.

"You go ahead and get ready. I need to check my phone," he said.

I ducked into the bathroom and turned on the shower.

I peeled off his t-shirt and my sweats and stepped into the shower. I let the hot water wash over me and let out a sigh. I washed my hair and I used some of Hector's shower gel. I drank in the scent of it. He had only been here for three days but I felt more comfortable around him than I ever did with Joe or Ranger. Mental head slap. Geez.

Once I was squeaky clean, I turned off the water. I pulled back the shower curtain and blinked at the sight of Hector at the sink, shaving. He just looked at me and handed me a towel. I retreated behind the shower curtain and dried off. I wrapped the towel around me and stepped out.

"Your turn," I said and gave him a sideways glance.

He rinsed his razor and then pulled his sweats down and stepped out of them. Eeek! I was still getting used to a naked Hector in my apartment. I turned my head away and waited until he disappeared behind the shower curtain and the water turned on.

I quickly gelled my hair and managed to get the curls under control. I was really beginning to hate my hair. It was always out of control and in my face. I quickly brushed my teeth, swiped on some mascara and lip gloss. I ran into the bedroom before Hector got out of the shower. I could be very easily distracted.

I pulled on some panties, a lacy bra and some socks. I barely wiggled into my jeans and a sweatshirt when Hector emerged from the bathroom in his boxers. His bare chest was glistening with water droplets and his hair was wet. I stared at the sight of him.

He grinned at me.

"Stop it!" I glared at him. I grabbed my sneakers and flounced out of the bedroom. His laughter followed me. I plopped onto my couch and put on my shoes.

A few minutes later, Hector walked into the living room dressed in jeans, a black t-shirt and sneakers. He was tucking his gun into his waistband. He picked up his RangeMan jacket and turned to me.

"Ready to go, Estephania?"

I grabbed my RangeMan jacket and my purse.

An hour later, Hector turned off the expressway and just a few blocks later, pulled the SUV into the zoo parking lot. He parked the SUV and came around to open my door. He held out his hand for me and helped me get out. He reached into the back and pulled out his jacket and put it on to conceal the gun in his waistband. Mine was in my purse.

We stopped at the ticket booth and Hector paid our admission. I picked up a map of the zoo and quickly located where the nearest food was. Hector put his hand at the small of my back and guided me through the gate. Once inside, he leaned in looking at the map in my hands and said, "Where to first?"

"That way," I said pointing toward straight. "The monkeys are over there and then the small mammals."

We spent about an hour going through several exhibits. The reptiles and creepy crawly things I wasn't too fond of and pulled Hector quickly past them.

Hector took my hand and laced our fingers together. We strolled past a pond and watched the wading birds stepping in the mud along the edge. I noticed a woman with two small children walking toward us. The kids were excited to see the ducks and geese on the pond. I smiled at them but when she saw Hector, her eyes widened and she pulled the kids close to her as she widened their path around us. I assume she saw the teardrops. At first I was angry at her reaction. But then she had no way of knowing what kind of man Hector was now. I shook my head to clear the thought from my head.

We walked further to the big cats displays. A male lion was sunning himself on some rocks. His head was tipped back, his eyes closed and his tail twitched every few seconds. There were several females laying in the shade and a couple of young lions were chasing each other, hopping over the females and tumbling in the grass.

"They remind me of Bobby and Lester," I mused. Hector chuckled and squeezed my hand.

We continued on to a North American mountain lion. He was stalking around his enclosure, making low huffing noises and then disappeared into a den. We stopped in front of a black jaguar. He was a magnificent animal. He was laying in the shade next to a tree. His yellow eyes followed us as we walked to the fence. Hector leaned forward and rested his forearms on the fence, watching the jaguar watch us. I rested my hand on his shoulder and then absently began rubbing small circles on his back. When I realized what I was doing, I slipped my hand around his arm.

"Hector?" I moved closer so that we were touching. "Did you have a street name when you were with the gang?"

"Si," he said quietly. He straightened his back, still watching the jaguar and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "It was Puma."

"Is that what the tattoo is on your back?"

He turned his head away from the big black cat and looked at me. "Si. You do not like it." He made it sound like a statement rather than a question.

"No, that's not what I meant!" I tipped my head back to look into his eyes. I reached up and cupped his face with my hand. "I actually love it. It's beautiful. And seeing this," I nodded toward the jaguar and continued, "just makes me think how you are so much like him. I love that about you."

Hector covered my hand on his face with his hand. "Querida, I am honored that you accept me and not judge what I was." He took my hand and kissed the palm.

I shrugged and smiled at him and said, "You accept me and I'm a walking disaster waiting to happen." Then my stomach decided to make _my_ inner lion known and roared.

We both laughed and I checked the map for the closest source of food. We found the snack bar a few minutes later. We both got a bottle of water and I ordered a Philly cheese steak sandwich since we were in Philadelphia. When in Rome….right? Hector surprised me and ordered one, too, along with an order of fries.

"Really? Junk food?" I asked him.

He grinned. "Yeah, I remember the sandwiches being great. The fries are for you but you have to give me some. We can hit the gym tomorrow."

We got our orders and settled down at a table. The sandwiches lived up to their name. I may have a new favorite food next to Pino's meatball subs! I seriously considered ordering a second one. Hector raised his eyebrow at me and shook his head. I pouted and stuck my tongue out at him.

Just then a zoo security guard walked up to our table. He looked at Hector and I started to get nervous.

"You're with RangeMan, aren't you?" The guard asked.

Hector nodded his head once and the guard pulled up a chair to sit down.

"Before you sit down, you need to know I am carrying," Hector said. "She is too."

"I understand," the guard said, sitting down. "I expected it. I wanted to let you know I think you guys are top notch. I worked in a large business office building in Trenton a couple of years ago. RangeMan installed the security system. I remembered the logo and, no offense, but I remember your tattoos. You did a great job. But you know, I think you only had two teardrops then."

"Thank you, sir. Hector Aguila. This is Stephanie Plum. And you are right, there were only two." Hector extended his hand to the guard and they shook hands. I smiled apologetically since I was still licking the melted cheese off my fingers.

"James Hudson. Pleasure to meet you both," the guard said. "Enjoy your visit today." He smiled and stood up. "This is the best time of year to be here." With that, he got a bottle of water from the snack bar and walked away.

I blinked and turned to Hector.

"Whoa, that was nice of him to stop and talk to you." I said to him. "Maybe you're not such a bad ass after all," I teased him and bumped my shoulder against his. "When _did_ you get the third teardrop?"

Hector looked away and then placed his arm along the back of my chair, cupping my shoulder with his hand. He tilted his head and rested his forehead against mine.

"I got the third one two years ago. When someone special to me was in trouble," he said quietly. "I took care of it."

I sat there for a moment and then sucked in a small breath. Abruzzi. There was no evidence at the scene. No witnesses. Nothing. At the time, everyone thought Ranger did it.

Now I know.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

We pulled into the RangeMan garage and parked. Hector turned to me and took my hand in his. "Are you ready to do this?"

"No. Can we go back home?" I bit my lower lip.

He kissed the back of my hand and said, "Come on. Tank will send someone after us if we sit here."

I groaned. Hector got out and came around to my side and opened the door. He unfastened my seatbelt and pulled me out of the SUV. He got behind me, put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me toward the elevator. Once inside I backed into the corner. Hector pushed the button for the fifth floor and turned to me.

"Querida, what are you afraid of?" he asked softly.

"What if they don't want me here? I mean, now that Ranger is gone? What if the only reason I had a job here was because of Ranger?" I whispered, praying the control room couldn't hear me.

"You have nothing to fear," he said.

The elevator opened on the fifth floor. Hector stepped out and took my hand, pulling me along with him.

"Beautiful! You came back to us!" Lester came bounding toward us like a happy puppy. He grabbed me and spun me around.

"Lester!" I shrieked. "Put me down!"

"Put her down. Now." Hector growled at him.

Lester set me down, grinned at me and wagged his eyebrows. Then he looked at Hector, "Good to see you too, man."

Tank came out of his office, "Santos!" he bellowed. Lester quickly ducked into his own office, leaving Hector and I to face Tank.

When Tank saw me, his face softened and he said, "Little girl, come here." I walked over to him and he pulled me into his huge arms and hugged me. "Hector," he said and nodded at him. He turned to me and said, "Let's go talk." He kept one arm around my shoulders and guided me toward his office.

I shot a 'please help me' look at Hector. He gave me a slight nod of his head and winked. Then he turned and hit the elevator button. Traitor!

Tank dropped into his desk chair and I took a chair across from him. He picked up his phone and said, "No interruptions." He hung up and looked at me. Oh, shit.

I felt a knot form in my throat. I twisted my hands nervously in my lap and bit my lip.

"What are you scared of, Steph?" he asked.

"I'm so sorry. I don't blame you if you want me to leave," I choked out.

He got up, came around his desk and sat in the chair next to me. He reached out and laid his massive hand over mine.

"Want you to leave? Why in God's name would I want you to leave?" he demanded.

I dropped my eyes to my hands. "Ranger's gone. There's no reason for me to be here now. I know he only gave me a job to keep me out of trouble."

A deep, rumbling chuckle emitted from Tank's chest. "Oh, little girl! You working here has nothing to do with Ranger. Yeah, you two were together in some odd way. I know you think he hired you because of that. Granted, he did want to keep you safe. But the work you do for us is critical to this company."

I looked up at Tank and said, "I was sure he would have told you to ship me to a third world country today."

"Why would he do that?" Tank asked.

"Well, I sort of might have made him mad," I mumbled and looked back down to my hands in my lap.

"Sort of might have done what?" Tank put his hand under my chin and lifted my head to face him.

"Um, he called me Friday morning. I wasn't very nice to him. I said some pretty bad things and hung up on him," I said. "He broke my heart, Tank. I was so angry with him and at myself for believing we had something together. Then he just up and leaves me to go back to Rachel! How could he do that to me?"

Tank rubbed his hand over his head and sighed. "Stephanie, sweetheart. I can't answer that for you. I know he did love you and as lame as it sounds, in his own way. And I know leaving you was one of the hardest things he's ever done. He's hurting too, Steph. When he left Rachel and Julie the first time, he never got over the guilt. He had to watch another man raise his daughter. When Ron died, Julie needed her _father_. But that doesn't justify how he left and he knows he should have talked to you before now."

Tank paused for a minute, and then said, "Now tell me what happened."

I told Tank about the call and the things I said to Ranger. I was close to tears when I finished.

"I've never been so angry with him, Tank! I'm glad he's hurting. He deserves it! He hurt me and I wanted to hurt him. I've never been able to penetrate his walls. He let me in so far and then he would shut down. He never told me what he wanted. Or how he felt about Julie. He should have told me up front that he would never let us have our _someday_. Hell, I didn't want the white picket fence! I just wanted him!"

Tank squeezed my hand that he was holding. "He gave you what he could. What you had is as much as he would allow. He will never do the white picket fence. I've known him for most of my life. He's a highly-trained soldier and a mercenary. That is his life. He's the only one of us that still goes in the wind. He will keep going until he doesn't come back. He couldn't give himself to you but he wouldn't let anyone else have you either. I'd like to kick his ass. So would everyone here. You deserve much more than that."

Wow. This was the most big man had ever talked. I blinked as I let everything he said sink in.

"What should I do now, Tank?" I cried and looked into the big man's eyes and he smiled.

"He wants you to work here, Steph. The core team wants you here. You belong with us. In fact, this is not my office anymore. This is your office," Tank said softly.

"What?" I sniffed and rubbed the back of my hand across my nose. "He wants me here?"

Tank turned, magically pulled some tissues out of the air and handed them to me.

"Yes, he does. More important, I want you here. I want you to help with the clients. Sometimes, they need a, uh, softer person to talk to. You are the best at searches. Better than Silvio or Rodriguez. You pick up on little things that none of us see. We need you. I need you. I want you to help me with the paperwork. You take the mess that I have and somehow you fix it all. And I know you don't believe it, but you are part of us, part of our family. You make us feel normal."

"This is my office?" I said incredulously.

Tank threw his head back and laughed. "Yes, little girl, this is your office. I already moved my stuff to Ranger's office. Welcome home, sweetheart." He stood up and pulled me to my feet and hugged me.

There was a knock at the door and Tank barked, "Enter!"

The door opened and Lester and Bobby tumbled into the room.

"Is everything OK, Beautiful? Are you staying?" Lester took my arm and pulled me toward his chest. He hugged me and then Bobby pulled me to him and hugged me. I giggled and tried to swat them away. I couldn't believe these big, bad ass guys wanted me working with them.

Tank walked around the desk and pulled out a folder. "Since Bobby and Lester are here and we are the core team, little girl, I have a new contract for you. It outlines your new salary and duties. I want to point out that part of it offers you an apartment on four and a company vehicle." He sat down. "Take some time and read it over."

I looked from Tank to Bobby to Lester. I still couldn't believe they wanted me here. I took the folder from Tank and quickly scanned it.

"Tank!" I exclaimed, "I can't take this salary! This is way too much!" I sank back into my chair.

"No, it's not, sweetheart," he said. "That is what you are worth to RangeMan. I told you that we want you here, that you are part of our family."

I blinked and saw visions of endless hamster crunchies and TastyKakes. "OK. I won't argue with you. This is awesome!" I pumped my fist in the air. Bobby and Lester came over and sat beside me.

"Steph, Beautiful, we all love you. We want you working with us. What do you think about moving onto four?" Lester asked, wagging his eyebrows.

I slowly shook my head and said, "No, I can't do that. I wouldn't be comfortable living here. There are too many memories for that."

Tank nodded and said, "Understood. Ranger has been paying your rent anyway. If you want to stay in your apartment, we will continue to do so. About the company vehicle, Ranger wants you to keep the Porsche. He knows you love that car."

"Tank, I'll probably get it blown up!" I protested. I looked at Tank then Lester and then Bobby. I can't believe Ranger wanted me to keep it.

"That hasn't happened since you have been here full time, Steph. Admit it, you love that car," Tank grinned, showing his sparkling white teeth, his eyes were dancing. I've never seen this side of Tank.

"Bomber, keep the car, please. You look totally hot in it. If it blows up, we'll get you another one," Bobby said.

"Oh, dammit you guys! You know I can't refuse when you say please!" I said.

I took a deep breath and asked, "Do I have to work out? And go to the gun range? And you know I can't go without sugar." The guys were _way_ too familiar with rhino Stephanie without sugar.

"You will not be held to the strict standards as the rest of the guys," Bobby said. "You have, uh, different hormones and different, uh, needs. But you will have to work out some and spend some time in the range. We'll all work with you and make it easier for you."

"This is a lot to take in, guys. I love you all and I want to stay here. You are all my brothers and my family." I started to cry again.

"Aww, Beautiful, please don't cry," Lester took my hand in his. "We all love you. I don't know what we'd do without you here."

I sucked in a deep breath. "OK, then, all of you, get out of my office!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Bobby said. He smacked Lester on the head. He and Lester walked out of my office. Tank held back.

"Thank you, big guy," I pulled Tank into a hug.

"No problem, sweetheart," he answered. "Tell me, is Hector treating you right?"

I blushed, "Yes, he is." I dropped my eyes, suddenly very self-conscience. I wondered if all the Merry Men knew about us.

"Yes, they do," Tank said, laughing.

"Out loud?" I rolled my eyes.

"That's one of the things we love about you, little girl! Just so you know, if he ever hurts you, he'll have to take on all of us on the mats. Maybe all of us at the same time just so we're evenly matched with him!" He kissed the top of my head and then left my office. I heard his laughter echo down the hall.

I sighed and looked around. It dawned on me that none of Tank's things were in there. It was MY office. I sat down at the desk and swiveled in the chair. I tapped the keyboard in front of me and then typed in my password. All of my files and search requests opened in front of me. There were other files that I recognized as personnel files such as payroll and schedules. I giggled and reached for the phone and dialed a number.

"Please come see me," I said sweetly and hung up.

Seconds later, Hector appeared in my office. I stood up and walked over to him and I kicked the door shut behind him.

"Estephania," he said softly.

"Did you know about this?" I asked him and poked a finger in his chest. Ouch.

"Si. Tank told me on Friday. I did not want to say anything to you. I wanted it to be your decision to stay."

I leaned back and narrowed my eyes, "You….you knew! You let me sweat! I am so going to get even with you!"

"Bring it on, querida."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

I narrowed my eyes at Hector. Then I smiled sweetly at him. I saw him relax and I struck. I swept his feet out from under him and he landed on his back with a thud. He grabbed for my ankle and pulled me down on top of him. I shrieked and tried to wiggle out of his grasp. I was helpless against him. So I did the next best thing and began to tickle him. He struggled to keep from laughing. Visions of a newspaper headline popped into my head 'Former gang member tickled to death'.

He tried to sit up and roll away from me but I wrapped my legs around his waist and hung on. He flipped me onto my back and started to tickle me. I tried to roll him so that I was on top again. That didn't work. Both of us were laughing hysterically and it was getting difficult to battle him.

"OK, ok! I give!" I gasped.

Hector sat back on his heels, straddling me, his hands on the floor above my shoulders. We were both breathless.

Just then, my door flew open and Bobby rushed in.

"Bomber! Are you OK? We could hear crashing around in here," he looked panicked. At least that's what it looked like from my upside down vantage point.

I smacked Hector and grunted, "Let me up."

Hector easily stood up and held out his hand to help me. Once I was upright, I straightened my clothes and pushed my hair out of my face. Hector quickly tucked his shirt in.

Lester was standing behind Bobby, grinning.

"Um, sorry, guys. We were, um, just settling something," I murmured.

Bobby glared at Hector. "He wasn't hurting you, was he, Steph?"

I rolled my eyes. Bobby shook his head and turned around, leaving my office.

Lester wagged his eyebrows at me, "You know, Beautiful, I could show you some moves to handle him."

Hector growled softly. He pulled me close and kissed me. "See you for lunch." He brushed past Lester and said, "She handles me just fine."

I stared at his retreating ass and sighed. I blinked and then sat down at my desk.

Lester plopped down in one of the guest chairs and grinned. "I take it Hector is not gay?"

I know I must have turned three shades of red. I bit my lower lip. "Nope. He's not. And that's all I'm telling you."

Lester leaned forward in the chair, his elbows resting on his knees. "Steph, you doing OK now? The whole Ranger thing?"

"Yes. No. I guess so. I don't know if I'll ever get over being angry with him, though. He used me. I can't forgive him for that."

"I'm sorry, Beautiful. Even though he's my cousin, I'm not going to make any excuses for him. But I know that he has only loved two women in his life. You are one of them."

"Thanks," I said wryly. "That makes me feel so much better."

"Sorry. Coming back here had to be hard for you. But I gotta tell you, everyone is glad you did. And not for comic relief. Seriously," he grinned and then cleared his throat. "Anyway, I drove by your apartment last night and saw Hector's SUV there. Hal told me it was still there this morning. Are you sure this is the best thing to be doing now?"

"Who are you? My father? What were you doing driving by and why the hell was Hal driving by?" My voice had raised two octaves. One octave away from rhino.

"Steph, we just wanted to make sure you were OK. You know how we all think of you as our sister. There's more than a few that would like to think of you as more. I need to know if this thing with Hector is what you really want."

I studied Lester's face for a minute and then spoke quietly, "Yes. He has shown me and given me more love in the last four days than I have ever known was possible. I can't begin to tell you how that feels. It's like he is the other half of me."

"Then I'm happy for you, Beautiful," he said.

Lester got up and walked around my desk. I stood up and he pulled me into a hug. "But I'll be watching him," he said. "He may be one tough bad ass but I'll take him out if he hurts you."

"Thank you, Lester. I don't think that will be necessary. He really loves me." I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "How soon do you think I should take him home for dinner?"

He threw back his head and laughed. "Only you, Steph!"

I giggled and then said, "I met _his_ mother."

Lester raised his eyebrows. "He has a mother? Are you sure he didn't just one day emerge from a dark alley or something?" he teased.

I smacked him on the shoulder. "You would be surprised if you knew the other side of him. His mother is beautiful. She's fun and she likes me. Oh, by the way, Eduardo is his brother."

"His brother? Shit, he's not going to kill us, is he?" Lester actually looked a little worried.

I laughed, "No, I wouldn't let him do that. I might let him take you to the mats though…" I tilted my head as though I was thinking about it. "Eduardo was leaving for his first tour when you saw him. He's serving this third one now. Hector would like for him to work here when his contract is over."

"Oh, man! Two Hectors? And a Bomber? God help us!" Lester threw up his arms in despair and left my office.

There weren't any search requests on my desk. Good. Maybe Rodriguez didn't know where my office was yet. I picked up my purse and headed down the hall for Tank's office. Outside his door, I paused. I took a deep breath and knocked on the door frame and walked inside.

Tank looked up from his desk and smiled. "Hey, little girl, come in!"

I glanced around the room and thankfully saw no traces of Ranger. Tank had even rearranged the furniture.

"You got anything for me, Tank?" I asked.

"No, not right now. Maybe this afternoon. Why?"

"I'm thinking of running by the bonds office. I can check if we have any files if you'd like," I offered, knowing he was always busy and wouldn't have time to go.

"OK, saves me from having to do it. Thanks," he said.

I turned to leave and he called after me, "Take someone with you!"

"Got it, big guy!" I shouted back at him. I rolled my eyes. I was already going to do that! Sheesh!

I stepped into the elevator and stopped on the second floor. I smiled and slipped into Hector's office.

"Hey," I said shyly. I wasn't sure what I should call him. Honey? Sweetie?

Hector got up from his desk and wrapped his arms around me. "Querida, have you come to finish what we started upstairs? I can disable the locks. No one will be able to get in." He kissed my neck in _that_ spot and nipped lightly. My purse dropped to the floor with a loud plop. I wrapped my arms around his waist.

"As tempting as that sounds, I wanted to see if you would go with me to the bonds office. Tank said to take someone with me. I don't think anyone else is capable of providing the type of protection I require."

I tipped my head toward him and was rewarded with a toe-curling kiss. "Like this?" he growled.

"Yeah, like that," I moaned and let my hands slide down his back and gripped his ass. I pulled his hips against mine. "Is your gun loaded?"

"Cocked and ready, Querida."

I groaned. "We may have to stop at my apartment on the way."

Hector kissed my neck again, "Before or after we stop at Tasty Pastry?"

I ducked out of his arms. "Ha, ha, very funny." I kissed his cheek and then said, "You know the drill. Stop for donuts and then go to the bonds office or Lula will hurt me. We'll get our files and then grab some lunch?"

I turned to pick my purse up off the floor. I paused for a minute and smirked, recalling our first kiss. I bent over slowly just as I had done in my apartment.

"Dios!" Hector grabbed me and kissed me deeply, nipping my lips and his tongue probing for mine.

Yup. Same reaction.

"OK, we gotta stop or we'll never get out of here," I gasped.

Hector grinned at me and released me from his embrace. I swear if the guys ever found out how sweet and loving he is, he'd have to kill them all. "Estephania, do you have your gun?" he asked.

I juggled my purse in my hands. It felt heavy enough. I nodded my head, "I think so."

Hector actually rolled his eyes. "Is it loaded?"

"I think so," I said a little cautiously. I stopped and rummaged through my purse. "Here it is!" I produced my gun and handed it to him. "Will you check it for me?"

Hector expertly flipped the gun around in his hands, slid open the chamber and checked the clip. He re-engaged the safety and handed it back to me. "What about your stun gun? Is it charged?"

I wrinkled my nose. "I think so. Maybe. I'm not sure."

He sighed. He opened a cabinet and got a stun gun out and handed it to me. "Give me yours," he said. Again I rummaged in my purse and pulled out my stun gun and gave it to him. I dropped the new one in my purse. He set mine on the counter and plugged a charger into it.

"Can we go now?" I whined. I really wanted a donut or three.

Hector closed up his office, took my hand and laced our fingers together. He opened the stairway door and tugged me with him. "It is only one flight. Then you can have donuts." I started to protest but then thought better of it. It _was_ only one flight down and gravity would do half the work. The promise of sugar is a great motivator. Sugar _and_ Hector. Sugar _covered_ Hector. Big mental head slap!

A few minutes later we were in his SUV and heading toward Tasty Pastry. As soon as he parked, I hopped out and ran to the bakery door. Hector caught up with me and opened the door for me. Once inside, the smell of fresh pastries made me giddy.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I picked out a dozen donuts for the bonds office and had the clerk put three Boston Crème donuts in a separate bag. Hector had been standing stoically by the checkout counter, doing what he normally does…making people nervous. When he took out his wallet, I slapped his hand away.

"No, I'm buying these. I won't let you feed my friends," I said and quickly handed over my debit card.

He just looked at me and let a small smile tip the corners of his mouth. He held the door for me and guided me out to the SUV. He took the box of donuts, balanced the bag on top of it and helped me into the vehicle. Once I was settled, he gave me back the box. However, he kept the bag.

When he got in the driver side, he set the bag on his lap. I whimpered and gave him a pleading look, "You said I could have donuts. I took the stairs."

Hector chuckled, "I will let you have them if one is for me."

I pursed my lips and looked at him carefully, "I thought you guys ate twigs and bark."

"Only at the office. I try to eat healthy at home but I like real food and donuts once in a while, too," he grinned at me.

He handed me the bag and I opened it. I held it out to him. He took one donut. I took one and bit into it, delighting in the creamy goodness and the rush of sugar. We split the third one. We took turns licking each other's fingers clean.

We pulled up in front of the bonds office a few minutes later. Hector got out of the SUV and opened my door. I handed him the box of donuts and stepped out. My foot had no sooner hit the pavement when the door to the office swung open.

"Hey, white girl! Get your skinny ass in here! That better be donuts for us!" Lula yelled.

I rolled my eyes at Hector. He placed his hand on my back and guided me inside the office. Connie was filing her nails and Lula was practically dancing waiting for the box of donuts. She was in silver, black and lime green spandex today. Her hair was tinged with green and she had silver beads in her braids.

I handed the box to Lula and she plopped down on the old sagging couch. "Where you been, white girl? We ain't seen you for over a week! Tankie told me Ranger left town but wouldn't tell me nothin' else. You still workin' at RangeMan? C'mon, spill! What you gonna do without Batman, girl?" She stuffed two donuts into her mouth and passed the box to Connie, who just raised her eyebrows at me.

Hector stood close behind me, his hand still on my back. I heard him let out a low growl.

"Lula, yes, I am still working at RangeMan. I'm not going to talk about anything else." I turned to Connie. "Got any files for us?"

"Um, yeah, Steph. Here's the stack. I haven't sorted them yet." Connie eyed me carefully and then looked at Hector while she took a donut from the box.

I picked up the files and thumbed through them. Hector was looking over my shoulder. I looked at the first file and said, "Lula." Second one, "Lula." Third one, "Ours." Fourth one, "Lula."

At the fifth and last file, I said "Our….." and gasped. Shit. Hernandez.

"Estephania?" Hector's hand moved from my back to my waist. He pulled me close to his side. A movement that was not lost on Connie. I shot a baby Burg glare at her.

Wordlessly, I handed the file to him. His eyes darkened and his face became hard. "Dios." He then muttered something in Spanish. Most likely it wasn't very nice. I have _got_ to learn how to swear in Spanish.

I looked at Connie and Lula and said, "We need to go." They stared back, their mouths open. Neither of them said a word as Hector took my arm and guided me out the door.

Once Hector had me buckled in the SUV, he leaned in the door and kissed me. "Querida, I am going to drop the SUV at RangeMan and get my truck. There are no trackers on it. We will go to lunch and talk about this."

I cupped his face with my hand, my fingers tracing the teardrops. "OK. In case I forget to say it, thank you for taking care of me."

"I will always take care of you, querida," he said softly. "Always."

As Hector slid into the driver side, I glanced at the bonds office. Connie and Lula were staring out the window. I gave them a finger wave as we drove away.

We pulled into the RangeMan garage and Hector parked the SUV. He came around to my side and helped me slide out of the passenger seat. He took my hand and laced our fingers together. We walked over to the employee section of the garage. He stopped and used a key fob to beep the doors on an immaculate black Ford pickup and helped me step up on the running board and get inside.

Hector got into the driver seat. He took my hand and kissed the back of it. He put the truck into gear and drove out of the garage. He turned north away from the Burg and toward his neighborhood. But before we got there he turned and drove down a street that was mixed store fronts and a few lonely houses. He parked the truck and turned to me.

"Stay in the truck, Estephania. I mean this. Do not leave the truck. Lock the doors when I get out," he said evenly, his eyes dark.

Whoa. This was street Hector. My eyes widened and I could only nod my head. He nodded once and got out of the truck. I quickly hit the locks button.

Hector walked over to a group of three Hispanic men in front of a pawn shop. They all did that hand shake thing. I could see them all talking and nodding at each other. Two of the men walked away. The third one and Hector went into the pawn shop.

Shit. I glanced around nervously. There were just a couple of older women walking down the street. A dog ran across and disappeared behind an overgrown hedge. I expected gun fire at any second. I bit my lip. I wanted to go in that pawn shop so bad.

Just when I thought I couldn't stand it any longer, Hector emerged from the pawn shop. He looked around the street and then walked purposely to the truck. I let out a breath I was holding and hit the locks button…twice for good measure. He got into the truck, put it into gear and we drove away.

"Oh, God, Hector. I was starting to get scared!" I cried and grabbed for his hand. He took it and squeezed it.

"You did good. You stayed in the truck as I asked," he grinned at me.

I gave him a little smile, "Who were those men?"

"Some men I know from _before_. They trust me and I can always get information from them," he said.

"Why did I have to stay in the truck?"

"I trust _them_, not the neighborhood. I grew up here."

"Oh," I said in a small voice. "Where are we going now?"

"Lunch. I know a good place a near here."

After a few minutes, he pulled the truck into the parking lot of a small Mexican café. The area was a definite improvement over the one we just left.

Hector guided me toward a booth in the back. I sat down, my back to the wall and slid over to make room for him. I took a quick look around and noticed that I wasn't the only white person in here. I relaxed a bit and smiled at Hector.

Our waitress brought over glasses of water and menus. She and Hector had a short conversation in Spanish. She smiled and picked up the menus and left. I raised my eyebrows at him.

"I ordered a combination platter for us, Querida. It is very large and will have enough for both of us."

I giggled and bumped my shoulder against his, "You hope! Can you tell me what you talked to those men about?"

"I asked them about Hernandez. If they knew where he was hanging out. They told me his wife threw him out again and he is staying at the girlfriend's house," he said.

"Can't we just go get him again?" I knew better than to ask but I thought I'd give it a shot. Ha ha. A shot. I crack myself up sometimes.

Hector's face turned dark. "No. He knows who you are now and I will not put you in danger. We need to take this to Tank."

I surprised myself and said, "OK, I won't argue with you on that."

Our food arrived and true to Hector's word, there was enough food for both of us and then some. It was incredible and I thoroughly enjoyed sampling all the different dishes. We managed to put a pretty good dent in the platter.

I asked for a 'to go' box. "I'm going to put this in the break room when we get back. It will be fun to see how long it lasts. You want to bet that Lester will be the first one to find it?"

Hector chuckled but then put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me to him. "Querida, I am serious that I do not want you anywhere near Hernandez," he said quietly.

I leaned my head on his shoulder and said, "I know. I really don't want you going after him, either. Or any of the guys for that matter. Something about him scares the crap out of me."

Hector kissed my forehead and said, "Come, I will take you back to the office."

Fifteen minutes later, he pulled the truck into the RangeMan garage. He didn't park the truck. Instead, he stopped by the elevator doors. I looked at him, wrinkling my brow. He got out and helped me step down from the truck.

"You go up. I have something to do. I will be back soon," he said. He kissed me and pressed the elevator button for me.

I started to open my mouth but he held a finger to my lips. "Nothing bad. I promise." He winked at me and let the elevator doors close.

I hit the button for five and dropped the leftovers in the break room. I walked slowly to my office wondering just what the hell he was going to do. He said it was nothing bad. But with Hector, how many levels of bad are there? Just a little bad? Really, really bad? Would he end up with another teardrop bad?

Shit. I dropped into my desk chair. I looked at the folders from Connie and sighed. I would give them to Tank later. This was something the core team needed to discuss.

I opened the folder with my new contract. I read through it and signed it. There were several of the standard employee forms that I knew were already on file but I signed them again. I stopped when I got to the last form. Medical Power of Attorney. Ranger had always had my Power of Attorney.

I squared my shoulders and carefully filled in the blank line: _Hector Aguila_.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

I put my contract and the other forms back in the folder for Tank. I picked up the files from Connie along with my file and headed to Tank's office.

On the way, I stopped at Lester's office. He was sitting at his desk, his back to the door. I caught a whiff of Mexican food.

"Santos!" I yelled. "What are you doing with my food?"

Lester coughed and whirled around in his office chair. His eyes were wide and he looked like he had just swallowed a canary.

"Geez, Booffiful," he managed to choke out. He swallowed hard. "Was this yours?"

"Yeah, that was my dinner! Now what am I going to eat?" I put my hands on my hips and glared at him.

"Steph, I'm sorry! I didn't know!"

I snorted and tried my best to look mad. But I couldn't help it when a giggle escaped.

He grinned and wagged his eyebrows, "I could take you out for dinner, Beautiful."

I rolled my eyes and laughed. "I left that in the break room on purpose. I knew you'd find it. You should have seen the look on your face! Totally worth it!"

He took another fork full of food and asked, "Where you headed?" He nodded to the files in my hand.

"Tank. I have my contract signed and I picked a couple of files from Connie. One of them is Hernandez." I sat down and handed the folder to Lester. While he thumbed through it, I grabbed his fork and took a big bite of the beans and rice. He let out a sigh and gave the file back to me.

"We'll have to go over this in the meeting tomorrow morning," he said. "You plan on being here that early?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "Yes, I'll be here. I want to be in on getting this guy."

Lester put his serious face on and said, "Um, Steph, I don't think you should be involved in the take down. This guy is a loose cannon. He's too unpredictable."

I nodded my head, "I know. Hector has already said he doesn't want me there."

"Listen to him, Beautiful. Even if you two weren't getting involved, he wouldn't want you there. No offense, but you just don't have the training or the strength to take down a guy like Hernandez. He's already hurt you once. If Hector hadn't been there, who knows what he would have done to you."

"Yeah, I've thought about that. Hector was ready to kill him. If Hernandez hurt me again, he'd just be a grease spot on the pavement when Hector was done with him."

Lester chuckled and said, "You got that right!"

I stood up and smiled at him. "OK, then. I'm going to go see Tank. And maybe, just maybe, go down to the gym until Hector gets back."

"Where did he go? Hal said he was in his own truck when he left."

"I don't know. He just told me it wasn't anything bad. You don't think he went after Hernandez on his own, do you?" I wrinkled my brow and looked at Lester hoping he might have an idea where Hector would have gone.

"No, I don't think he would do that. A few years ago, yes. But not now. He's one of us now. You have played a large part in that. He doesn't have our military training but his skills from the street are invaluable. He fits in very well here. He has saved all of our asses at one time or another."

"Thanks, Lester." I smiled and left his office.

I knocked lightly on Tank's door. It sounded like he was on the phone but I heard him say, "Enter." I opened the door and walked quietly in and sat down.

Tank nodded once and continued his conversation. "She is back and agreed to work full time." Shit. He must be talking to Ranger. "No, she didn't want to live here. She still has the Porsche." Tank gave me a small smile while he listened for a moment. "She's fine. She's partnered with Hector. There is nothing else to report." Tank hung up the phone. Typical RangeMan. No one knows how to say goodbye!

"You know who that was." Tank stated. "He has called twice today wanting to know how you are. It's not my place to tell him anything about you. I'm confident that if there is anything he needs to know, you will tell him."

"He's not coming back, is he?" I asked him cautiously. "If he comes back, I can't work here. I'll have to leave."

Tank ran his huge hand over his face. I held my breath. I was afraid he was going to tell me Ranger was on his way back to Trenton.

"No, little girl. He won't be back. I can't say with 100% certainty that he won't check in, but there is no place for him in this office anymore. Believe it or not, the men are all on your side."

I had to look away from Tank. I looked up at the ceiling and tried to blink away the tears that were in my eyes. "Damn, Tank."

"Aww, Steph, don't cry. I hate it when you cry," Tank pleaded.

"I'm not crying! I just had a moment there. The last few days have been a bit of a roller coaster even for me!" I sniffed. "Here, I brought you my contract."

Tank took the folder and flipped through the papers. At the last page, he raised his eyes and looked at me intently. Then he nodded and laid the folder down. "What else do you have there?" he asked.

"These are from Connie," I answered him. "Hernandez is one of them." I handed him the files.

I stood up to leave and turned to Tank, "I'll be here for the meeting tomorrow."

I stopped by the break room and got a bottle of water. I decided against the gym. I gave the guys in the control room a finger wave and went back to my office and sank into my chair. I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. Roller coaster pretty much described the last few days for me. I could hear that clicking sound a coaster makes as it goes up and then flies down the other side. Big crash and burn with Ranger. Big emotional rush to the top with Hector. Crash down with Hernandez on the loose again.

"Estephania?"

I looked up as Hector walked into my office. He had a large shopping bag in his hand.

"Hey, Hector," I said and smiled brightly at him. He didn't appear to be bleeding anywhere so I guess that was good.

He came over to my desk and leaned in. He held my head in his free hand. I reached up and placed my hands on his neck. His lips met mine and for a few seconds, I saw little lights flashing behind my eyes. Holy cow! He nipped my lower lip as I eagerly met his tongue with mine. I moaned. It was a good thing I was still sitting down because I don't think my legs could have held me up. The coaster was definitely going up again.

Hector leaned back and pulled one of the side chairs closer to my desk and sat down.

"Where did you go?" I asked him once my head stopped spinning.

He laid the bag on my desk. "I got you something. It is not flowers or chocolate but I hope you know that it is from my heart and that I love you very much."

I opened the bag and pulled the tissue wrapped object out. I removed the tissue and took in a small breath. Hector had gotten me a purse. What? I picked it up and ran my hand over the buttery soft black leather. It was beautiful and very well made. The strap was adjustable so it could be worn on my shoulder or across my body or it could just be carried. I looked inside and could see several compartments.

I looked at Hector and said softly, "Hector, this is beautiful. I'm almost speechless. It is obviously very expensive. I don't know why you did this but thank you." I laid my hand on his arm. No man I had ever known would have attempted to get a purse for me.

Hector smiled and said, "Querida. I know you must think this is an unusual gift. You are right. Let me show you. Give me your gun. Please."

I sat back a little and looked at him sideways as I fumbled for my purse. I pulled out all the junk and handed him my gun.

"See? The purse is designed for concealed carry. This is where your gun goes. This pocket inside is for your stun gun. There is one for your cell phone."

He slid my gun into the built-in holster on the side of the purse. I handed him my stun gun and he slipped it inside the pocket. Intrigued, I gave him my cell phone and it, too, slid into a pocket.

"Not very romantic, I know. But I want to make sure you are able to pull your gun quickly. I will get you a knife that you can carry also."

I stood up and adjusted the strap on the purse and slipped it on my shoulder. I practiced getting my gun out a couple of times and then reached for the stun gun. Oh, my, God. This was the best purse ever!

"Hector! This is wonderful! I love it! Where did you get it?"

"The gun shop. I saw it a few months ago and thought of you. This morning when you were digging in your purse for your gun made me decide to get it for my _partner_." He grinned.

I love you!" I threw my arms around his neck. He pulled me onto his lap and crushed me in his arms. He kissed me deeply with just enough tongue to make me ruin my panties.

He whispered in my ear, "I am not gay, querida, but I do like to shop."


	19. Chapter 19

_So sorry for not updating sooner. Thank you to everyone for your reviews and encouragement!_

Chapter 19

The next morning I was in my office by 7:30 or 0730, depending on who you talked to. Hector and I had stopped by Tasty Pastry and got donuts and coffee on the way to RangeMan. We both tried to avoid the subject of Hernandez. We talked about the weather, our families and I warned him that one of these days, we were going to _have_ to go my parent's house for dinner. Maybe next week. Or next month. Or next year.

We walked into the conference room just before 8:00. Most of the Merry Men were there. Lester, Bobby, Ram, Cal, Hal, Vince, Woody and Manny.

Exactly at 8:00, Tank walked in and shut the door. He took the chair at the head of the table. He cleared his throat and said, "Gentlemen, Stephanie. Let's begin."

Each of the teams made their usual _boring_ reports and then Tank opened the files I had given him. He passed copies of Hernandez's file to each of the guys.

"This one is Mario Hernandez," he began. "You all know Steph and Hector took him in a couple of months ago. Stephanie was hurt. He's been seen at several of the clubs on Stark. When he's been drinking is when he is the most dangerous. It would be best to take him down at the apartment where he is staying before he gets out to the clubs and starts drinking. We don't have anything on the two men that were seen with him over the weekend. Get all the intel you can on them and we'll meet again tomorrow morning. Stephanie, please do the research but you are not going to be part of the take down. Any questions?"

I glared at Tank. "What? Why can't I be there?"

"Steph, you know why. He knows you. We need you to do your part and give us all the intel so we can do our job safely. Let the guys take care of this. We don't want you to get hurt again," Tank replied calmly. Again, I was amazed at how much Tank actually talked now.

I took a few deep breaths. Rhino Stephanie was about to make an appearance. Hector placed his hand on my thigh and squeezed gently. I looked at him, closed my eyes and nodded. He didn't have to say anything but I understood the gesture. Any other time I would have come unglued. Ranger would always just tell me what to do. He never asked what I wanted.

I looked around the room. These guys cared about me like a sister and I know they would take a bullet for me. In fact, several of them _had_ taken a bullet or broken a bone or worse for me. Guilt washed through me. I knew they were right.

"OK," I said. "I will help you all I can. If you will let me, would it be alright if I rode with you and stayed in the car? I want to see this scumbag taken down."

Tank looked at Lester and Bobby. They were the core team now and they would make the decision.

Bobby sat forward and folded his hands on the table. "Bomber, you know any other time, you would be right there beside us. This time, we just can't put you in danger. If you promise to stay in the car, then we will consider it."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "OK, then I will _consider_ staying in the car." Yeah, right.

Lester grinned at me, "That's all we ask, Beautiful."

I spent the rest of the morning in my office running searches on Hernandez and his known associates. I came up with several names and printed the reports. I recognized one of the guys from the other night. He had an arrest record but none in the last two years. I had no match on the second one.

Hal came by and gave me the file on the other skip that Connie gave us. Sonny Molina. Never heard of him. I started a search on him and while it was running, I went to the break room for a snack.

Vince and Woody were getting a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

"Hey, Woody! How is Caroline doing" I asked him while I searched the upper cabinets for my stash of TastyKakes. Vince stood up and reached into the cabinet over the refrigerator for me and pulled out my favorite Butterscotch Krimpets. He grinned and sat back down at the table.

Woody blushed and said, "She's doing fine. No sickness yet. But she is panicking that none of her clothes are going to fit. She says she's going to get fat and ugly. She doesn't believe me when I tell her she's beautiful. I'm going to take her out for a fancy dinner this weekend."

"Good for you. That is a great idea," I replied and gave him a kiss on his cheek. Woody is really a sweetie and I was genuinely happy for him and Caroline. He was going to make an awesome father. I took my contraband and headed back to my office.

The search on Molina was done and I printed everything. I was starting to read it over when Hector came into my office. He gave me a quick kiss below my ear. I moaned and clung to his shoulders. His kiss may have been brief, but the effect sent a hot surge to my belly.

"Oh, please, can we go home now?" I begged him.

Hector chuckled and sucked gently on my neck. Oh, God! I loved his man!

"We need to get some lunch. I talked to Tank earlier and he thinks we should do a distraction for this Molina guy. I do not agree with him so I want to talk to you about more training," he replied. His eyes darkened and I recognized the jaw clenching. He was not happy.

"Pino's? Please?" I batted my eyelashes and gave him a sexy smile. "We can go over the file then."

Hector's face softened and he said, "Whatever you want, querida."

I stood up, grabbed my new purse and tucked the Molina file in it. Hector laced our fingers together and we headed for the elevator. Bobby and Lester were standing in the hall.

"Where you headed, Beautiful?" Lester asked.

"It's lunchtime. Where do you think I'm headed?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"Pino's? Can we go with you? Please?" Lester gave me the puppy dog eyes.

I glanced at Hector and he just smiled. "Sure. Meet you there?" I replied.

The four of us rode down to the garage. Hector guided me to his RangeMan SUV. Bobby and Lester headed toward another one. Hector held the passenger door for me. Once I was settled, he slid into the driver side and we followed the guys out of the garage.

A few minutes later, we were seated in the back booth of Pino's. Meatball sub for me and the guys ordered some kind of healthy subs. Geez, why bother? We were at Pino's!

I pulled the file out of my purse and gave it to Hector. Molina was into selling anything and everything. Drugs, guns, women.

"Is that the Molina file?" Bobby asked Hector.

"Si. Estephania just ran the searches on him. Have a look," he said and handed the file over to Bobby.

Bobby read through the pages and gave the file to Lester. "Another one of our fine up-standing citizens. He lives in a secure condo. It will be harder to get to him there. Tank wants to do a distraction. Get him away from his condo and in a location we can control." Bobby said.

"Great," I muttered. "When is this happening?"

"Don't know yet, Steph," Lester said. "We need to get a team together and plan the take down."

Hector spoke up, "I would like Estephania to have more training. I want her to be better prepared when things go wrong. Can you work with us this afternoon? I want Ram there also."

I wrinkled my brow and looked at him. What was going on in that gorgeous brain of his? I always thought distractions went pretty well. We always got our man. Granted, I may get shoved around, knives held to my throat and I may have been shot a couple of times but, hey, it goes with the territory. Bobby was always there to patch me up.

Lester handed the file back to me and I slipped into my purse.

"Whoa, Beautiful! Is that your gun?" he was staring at my purse.

I looked down at the purse and tilted my head to see the holster better. "Yeah, Hector got it for me."

"Let me see that." Lester reached over the table and I handed him the purse. He turned it side to side and peeked at the interior. "This is cool, Steph. Way better than your old one. You couldn't find an elephant in it!" He handed the purse back to me. "That's nice, Hector. I know I've seen them at the gun shop but never thought about how one would be perfect for Steph. If we ever hire more women, we need to make them standard."

I rolled my eyes. The men seriously had one track minds. Guns. And weapons. Well, OK, and women. Any combination of the three and they were in a testosterone trance.

We finished our lunch and drove back to RangeMan. When Hector helped me out of the SUV, he asked, "Querida, do you have gym clothes here?"

"I'm pretty sure Ella still has some for me. She always has anything I need. I'll go up to six and ask her. When do you want to go down to the gym?"

"How about if we meet you down there in an hour? Bring your purse with you."

Hector got off the elevator on five and I rode it up to six. I knocked on Ella's door and she immediately opened the door. "Stephanie! It is so good to see you! I heard you are back with us." She smiled broadly and gave me a hug.

"Hi, Ella. Yes, I'm back. For good this time. I'm sure you know everything that happened," I said.

She nodded. "What can I do for you, dear?" she asked.

"Do you have some gym clothes for me? The guys are wanting to go over some more training with me."

"Yes, I do. I have several and several of your uniforms, too. Give me a minute and I'll get them." She disappeared down the hall. Exactly a minute later, she emerged with a laundry basket with my clothes.

"There is everything you need. Your locker room is clean and ready to go," she said.

"Thank you, Ella. You have always looked out for me." I took the basket and went down to five to my office. I looked through the clothes and saw that Ella had prepared for worst case scenarios. There was everything from underwear to RangeMan uniforms to sweats, plus shoes and socks. I picked up the basket and hit the elevator to go to the gym.

Downstairs, I went into _my_ locker room. Ranger had Louis convert a storage area for me so that I could have some privacy from the guys. I hung the uniforms in my locker and tucked the sweats up on the shelf. I quickly changed into a sports bra, gym shorts and a tank top and socks and shoes. I grabbed my purse and went into the gym.

Hector and Ram were deep in conversation when I entered the gym. Hector looked up and smiled. "Querida," he simply said. I grinned at him.

Ram looked at Hector, then at me and back at Hector. "I didn't believe Lester when he said you two were together. I see it now. But if you hurt her…."

"Ram!" I interrupted him. "What is it with all of you that you want to beat the crap out of each other?"

"Sorry, Steph." Ram said. "No one wants to see you get hurt again."

I hugged Ram and looked up into his eyes and said, "I don't think that will be a problem anymore."


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Hector came up behind me and grabbed me, pinning my arms to my body. "Estephania, try to free yourself."

I wiggled and tried to use my forearms to drive his arms away from me. It didn't work. I tried to kick my leg back and stomp on his instep. That didn't work either. He was holding me so tightly I could barely move.

"What am I doing wrong, Hector?" I turned my head and leaned back against his shoulder.

"Nothing, querida. You have been training with the guys. Their training is military. Their moves are calculated. Mine is the street. That is why you have trouble with some of the skips. You need to learn how to fight my way."

"OK. What do I need to do?"

"Bite me," he said.

"Excuse me?"

Ram started to laugh. I glared at him. Hector still had me trapped in his arms. "Bite me," he said again, his lips against my hair. "Anywhere you can."

"Um, honey, won't that hurt you?" I asked sweetly.

"That is the point. Do something that hurts. If you can get an arm free, make a fist and swing it down backward and hit his crotch. Raise your arm and slam it back into his nose. Jab your elbow into his ribs. All you need is a few seconds to get to your gun."

We ran through the moves a few times. I didn't really hurt Hector but a couple of times, it was tempting. Being the helpless victim can make a person a little cranky. Ram watched and added a few moves that I could use against someone. I was beginning to get the hang of the small moves that didn't require strength but quickness instead.

Hector picked up my purse and said, "Put this over your shoulder. Your gun is unloaded. I will come at you again."

I backed up and watched him warily. My hand instinctively went to the holster in the side of the purse. Hector grabbed my arm and jerked me toward his body. I had my hand on my gun and easily pulled it out of the holster. I jabbed my gun into his side. Hector released me and raised his hands in surrender.

I took the opportunity to wrap my arms around him. I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him thoroughly. Then I bit his lip just hard enough for him to say ouch. "Or I could do that."

Hector growled softly and said, "We will practice that one at home."

Ram rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering something about he thought he'd never see the day

The door to the gym banged open and Lester and Bobby walked in.

"OK, let's get this show on the road!" Lester said excitedly. He rubbed his hand together. "How are we going to do this?"

Hector pulled a drawing out of his cargos and detailed a typical distraction. Each of us added our thoughts. Molina would probably be armed. Goody. I just love it when these jerks were armed. Made my job _so_ much more thrilling.

We re-arranged the mats on the floor to indicate where the door to the club would be. We placed some of them where the SUVs would be parked. The guys all took up their positions. I walked through the mats and stopped where the 'door' would be. I mentally went through how I would go through the club and park myself at the bar by Molina. We would chat for a bit and then we would leave the club.

"OK, if I've gotten Molina to follow me like these normally go, I'll come through the door and he'll be behind me," I told them. "Now what, Hector?"

"Estephania, I will be Molina. Once we have cleared the door, I will grab you. Les, you and Bobby pull your guns," Hector instructed them.

"Um, Hector, pull their guns?" I squeaked. Getting shot at was not new for me, but by my own guys?

Bobby laughed, "Bomber, it's OK. Hector asked us to unload our guns. Ram's rifle isn't loaded either."

Hector reached for me and pulled me back against his chest. He had his arm around my body and a gun to my head. In a typical distraction, I wouldn't have any weapons on me. I had to rely solely on the guys.

Bobby and Lester took their guns and aimed at us. Ram raised his sniper rifle into firing position.

Just then Tank came into the gym and demanded, "What are you guys up to?"

I looked at Tank and gulped. "Who? Us?"

"Yeah, little girl. You, and the Three Stooges here," he growled. "And Ram. What have they got you doing?"

Bobby and Lester had found something on the ceiling to stare at. Ram lowered his rifle and looked at the floor.

I looked back at Hector and then said, "Uh, we are working on training for the distraction with Molina. We thought I could use some extra work." Hector had relaxed his grip but did not release me from his arm.

"Alright, what is this extra work you think you need?" Tank asked.

"I don't know yet. We just got started." I gave him my best innocent smile.

I wasn't lying. I really didn't know what the guys had up their sleeves.

Tank folded his arms across his chest and stared at each one of us. Shit. We were all going to die. He nodded his head and said, "Continue. I want to see this."

I swallowed and turned to Hector, "OK, what do you want me to do now?"

Ram and Bobby repositioned themselves. Hector pulled me back against his chest. Lester walked over to us.

"Beautiful, I want you to quietly say 'Ram'. He will be able to hear you through your mic. That is his cue. He will say 'noodle'. I want you to let your body go limp and lean toward your left. If I am right, Molina will loosen his grip on you. As soon as you feel that, drop to the ground and roll away to the left. Ram will take his shot. We get the bad guy and you don't get hurt."

"What kind of crap is this noodle?" Tank demanded.

Lester turned to Tank. "We want to be prepared in case Molina grabs Steph. Whenever she's gotten hurt is when the skip surprises us by grabbing her. We have always had to let the guy go because we couldn't do anything that might get Beautiful hurt. Hector and I had the idea that if she went limp, it might cause him to let go and Ram could take a shot."

Tank looked at us and nodded, "OK, let's see this."

Lester want back to stand by Bobby and they 'drew' their guns. "Let her go," Lester demanded. Hector raised his gun at them and said, "Drop your guns or she gets hurt."

The guys raised their hands and then placed their guns on the floor. Suddenly Hector said "Bang." My eyes widened as I realized one of the guys had been 'shot'. Lester grabbed his shoulder and fell to the floor. Nobody told me about this part!

I blinked a couple of times, took a shaky breath and then said "Ram."

Ram responded with 'noodle'. I waited about three counts and then let my knees buckle and shifted my weight to the left. Hector loosened his grip and I was able to slide to the floor. I rolled to the left like Lester had instructed.

"Bang," Ram said. Hector was 'shot' and fell backward to the floor.

I scrambled to my feet and yelled at him, "What the hell was that? You didn't say anything about shooting one of them!" I was waving my arms around.

Bobby and Ram ran to Hector and pretended to check for a pulse. Hector hopped to his feet and grinned at me.

Lester walked casually over to me and draped his arm around my shoulders. "You should have seen the look on your face, Beautiful!"

I smacked him on the shoulder.

"Ouch, I just got shot there!" Lester whined.

Tank stood there for a few seconds and then uncrossed his arms. "This just might be crazy enough to work." He turned and left the gym.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

After Tank left, we ran through the distraction again and again, until we felt pretty good about the Noodle Effect as we were calling it. The guys rotated their positions and each of them played the part of Molina. The last one we did for the day, Lester played my part. No surprise there. Eye roll!

Once we had our giggles under control, we cleaned up the gym. We put the mats back where they belonged. Ram took out his gun case, opened it and tossed everyone's ammo clip to them. Then he took apart his sniper rifle and put it in the case. He snapped it closed and left the gym. Bobby and Lester followed him out the door.

"See you later, Beautiful!" Lester called from the hall.

Hector pulled me into his arms. He hugged me tightly and kissed the top of my head. "Tired, querida?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I am. Ready to go home?" I hugged his waist and rested my head on his chest. Home. What a wonderful word. God, I could die happy right now. I don't know how this warm and sensual man came into my life but I thanked the stars above every day for giving him to me. Truth be known, I was terrified of losing him.

"You want to shower here before we go?" he asked. He kept one arm around me and the other palmed my head against his shoulder.

"Sure," I said and raised my lips to his. I kissed him hungrily, my tongue teased his lips. I was so going to get in trouble for that move. He stroked my hair and he began placing little kisses on my forehead and temples.

He backed me against the door. His hips pressed into mine as he held the back of my neck. I wrapped one leg around his waist and my arms around his neck. He slid his hand down my back and cupped my ass. Heat shot through my belly and down to between my legs. Damn. Ruined my panties again. I moaned and his lips crashed on mine.

"Cameras," I said and gasped for air.

"Scrambled," he replied against my lips and kissed me again. My lips parted and his tongue probed my mouth. I wrapped my other leg around him and locked my ankles behind him.

"Shower. Now." I pleaded breathlessly.

Hector wrapped his arms around me and stepped back from the door. I slid my legs slowly down his body. He shuddered slightly. I grinned and took his hand. Wordlessly I led him into my locker room. Once inside, I locked the door behind us and turned to him.

We kicked off our shoes and they bounced off the walls. I peeled off my tank top and bra. Hector's eyes were dilated black as he stripped off his t-shirt. I pulled my shorts and panties down and stepped out of them. Hector's gaze never left my eyes and he stepped out of his shorts. I gave him a 'come here' smile and turned the shower on.

I backed into the shower and pulled Hector in with me. He turned his back to the shower spray and corralled me in the far corner. He reached for me and placed his hands on my hips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and closed my eyes. He leaned in and began kissing my neck, gently sucking and licking, dragging his tongue from one side of my jaw to the other. I tipped my head back against the wall giving him full access to my throat. Hector ran his hands up and down my sides and caressed my breasts tenderly. He licked and nipped my hardened nipples and sucked them greedily.

I trailed my hand down his rock hard chest and abs to his now rock hard cock. I curled my hand around his length and stroked him slowly. He let out a low groan and ground his hips into mine.

"I thought you were tired, querida." He growled.

"Second wind," I purred and wrapped one leg around his waist again.

He dropped his hand and grasped my thigh, pulling me against him and pressed my back against the cool tile. He slipped two fingers of his other hand into my waiting core, rubbing and pinching my clit. I arched my back and whimpered.

"Oh, God, Hector! Now, please!" I cried out as intense heat spread throughout my belly.

Hector lifted me slightly and slid inside me, buried to the hilt. I wrapped my arms around him and bit his neck lightly. He was groaning and began thrusting rhythmically. I was close to the edge and could feel my walls clenching around him. I began to quiver as wave after glorious wave washed through me.

Hector tensed and began pumping harder just as I suppressed a scream with my release. He let out an anguished "_Dios!"_ and groaned as his release surged inside of me.

We stayed locked together for several minutes, neither of us moving or speaking. Once our breathing and heart rates returned to normal, Hector slowly pulled away from me letting my leg slide back down. He laced the fingers of our hands together and raised them above my head against the wall. He rested his forehead against mine.

"Wow." I whispered.

Hector grinned and replied softly, "Estephania." He backed under the shower spray and pulled me with him. "Allow me." He reached for my shower sponge and the bottle of shower gel. When he opened the bottle and I got a whiff of the scent, I grinned back at him. It was his shower gel. I'm not even going to ask.

Twenty minutes later, I turned off the shower while Hector stepped out and grabbed a couple of towels. We dried each other thoroughly, stopping a few times for some _extracurricular_ activities. Best shower ever.

As I finished drying Hector's back, I traced his tattoo with my fingers and kissed both of the cat eyes. "You know, I never thought of myself as a cat person. But this kitty definitely has me hopelessly in love."

Hector turned around and pulled me into his arms, "Me too, querida. Me too." He tipped his head and brought his lips down to mine, kissing me softly.

"We need to get dressed and get out of here or I'm afraid we'll need another shower," I teased him and ducked out of his arms.

I turned and giggled at the sight of my locker room floor. Clothes were scattered everywhere, leaving a trail from the door to the shower. I picked up everything and threw it all into the hamper for Ella.

"At least give me my boxers so I can go grab some clothes from my locker," Hector said.

I laughed and tossed his boxers to him and he went to go get this clothes. I took what I needed out of my locker and quickly dressed in shorts and a tank top. I was pulling my hair into a ponytail when Hector came back a couple of minutes later in gym shorts and a t-shirt. Good enough to get us past the cameras and home.

Hector took my hand and laced our fingers together and we headed out to the garage. He opened the passenger door for me and helped me into the SUV. He went around to the driver side and slid into the seat. Once inside, he took my hand and kissed the back of it.

"What would you like to do for dinner, querida?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes and said, "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I feel like something healthy. Grilled chicken salad from Pino's?"

Hector stifled a laugh and calmly looked me in the eyes, "I will call it in so it will be ready when we get there." He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before putting the SUV in gear. I think he was trying to keep my brain occupied before I could change my mind.

Once at Pino's, Hector jumped out of the SUV and went in to get our order. Within minutes we were pulling into the parking lot of my apartment. He helped me out and placed his hand at my back guiding me inside. He hit the button for the elevator. I started to say something but thought better of it and just smiled. He knew I would be a little sore from our workout today and stairs were not an option.

He kissed me lightly as the doors opened on the second floor and we bumped shoulders playfully as we walked toward my door.

Shit! My eyes widened and I dropped the Pino's bag. Hector pushed me behind him as he drew his gun.

There was a red target painted on my door.

Hector entered the apartment and returned seconds later. "It is OK." He picked up the Pino's bag and guided me inside. He set the bag on the counter in the kitchen and drew me into his arms. Only then did I let myself start to tremble. Tears began to slide down my cheeks.

"Querida," he whispered. He pulled my head into his shoulder and kissed the top of my head. "Do not cry, mi amor. I am here. No one can hurt you."

I held onto Hector as though my life depended on it. Well, actually, it did. Some sicko was after me again. Who had I pissed off lately?


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

I let out a deep sigh and allowed myself to relax. As usual, Hector was able to calm my frazzled nerves in mere seconds. I cupped his face and gave him a quick kiss. "Thank you. Let's eat. I'm hungry. Although I'm not wild about my choice now since some nutcase has made me rethink trying to be healthy," I grumbled and got a couple of bottles of water from the refrigerator.

I walked over to the table and plopped down. Dammit! A target painted on my door. Dillon is going to love repainting my door, again. Shit! It could be worse, though. Remember the death cooties on my couch? Body parts in my freezer?

Hector opened the Pino's bag and pulled out a grilled chicken salad and a meatball sub. Then he picked up the water bottles and put them back in the refrigerator. He got two bottles of beer and took his place at the table.

I stared at him, my mouth trying to form words but no sound was coming out.

He grinned at me. "Querida, I know you like the back of my hand."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Careful with that thing. You know what happened in the gym," he smirked at me. He opened the beer bottles for us and then calmly began to eat his salad.

I sputtered for a few seconds and then common sense took over. Never look a gift meatball sub in the mouth. So to speak! I inhaled it along with my beer. I got a couple more beers for us while Hector cleaned up the table.

Hector leaned back on the arm of the couch and pulled me next to him so I could curl up between his legs. This was beginning to be my new favorite thinking position.

"So now what?" I asked him.

"I am going to call Lester and see if he will come over. I want him to take a look at the door. Maybe we can get some prints."

Thirty minutes later, Lester pulled into my parking lot and shut off his vintage Mustang. Hector's SUV was there and so was the Porsche that Ranger had given to me. The guys were glad I was keeping the Porsche. They said it looked good on me. As long as I didn't get it blown up. RangeMan would make sure the car was taken care of. It would be frequently detailed and the most up to date trackers would always be installed. Bullet proof glass was brought up more than once.

Lester took the stairs to her apartment two at a time. Once he was face to face with the new attempt at brightening up the hallway, his usual boisterous enthusiasm began to wan. He hated to see her have to deal with another stalker. He shook his head and sighed and knocked on the door.

Hector pulled himself out from under me and went to the door to let Lester in. I heard them talking quietly in Spanish. I hated it when they did that. But it was probably better that I didn't know what they were saying. I didn't want to be involved with a body disappearing.

"Nice décor, Beautiful," he said when he walked into the living room. I glared at him. He was _so_ funny. Ha ha.

He pulled out his kits to pull prints and to type the paint and manufacturer. I drank my beer while Lester and Hector worked on the door. An hour later, they had gotten everything they could which was nothing. No prints and the paint on my door was available at any home improvement store. Big whoop.

"Estephania, come over here for a minute," Hector said. "Look at the target. We think the painter is left handed. See how the spray starts on the left and gets lighter on the right?"

I stood there and studied the pattern. I squinted my eyes and bit my lip while I mentally went over all the files we had worked on the last few months. Bingo!

I let out a little gasp and turned to the guys. "I know who it is! Remember when we were at Pistol's and Hernandez pointed his hand at me? It was his left hand! A right handed person would have used their right hand!"

"Augh!" I yelled and started pacing the living room, waving my arms around. "When are you going after this asshole?"

Lester wrapped his arm around my shoulders gingerly. "Beautiful, the team wants to get Molina taken care of first. Then we will go after Hernandez."

"What?" I shrieked. "You're going to let him just walk around? What do I have to do, go after him myself?" I spun away from him and glared at him.

Lester quietly packed up his little CSI kit, eyeing me carefully. "OK, Beautiful, gotta run. I have a date." He wagged his eyebrows. "See you two tomorrow," he said as he left the apartment.

Hector got two more bottles of beer from the refrigerator, opened one and handed it to me. I sat back down on the couch. He opened the other bottle for himself and pulled me close to his side. I tucked my feet under me and leaned my head back on his shoulder.

"I think it is time for you to move somewhere else, querida," he said.

I let out a deep sigh. "You're right. I know this place sucks and every crazy out there knows where I live. But I don't want to go to an apartment at RangeMan. Will you help me find a place this weekend?" I asked him and took a drink of my beer.

He set his beer on the coffee table and turned to me. "What do you think of moving to the apartment at mama's?"

"Really?" I looked into his eyes and they were dark with emotion. "That is _your_ apartment," I said to him, a bit tentatively.

"Estephania, I am already living here with you. And you know I built that apartment for you. If you do not want me to live with you in the apartment, I will stay at the RangeMan apartment."

"No! Oh, no! That's not what I meant! I love having you here and I love you! I just didn't know if you were ready for _really_ living together. I think I am. I know I'm ready to get out of this place," I said. I set my beer down and wrapped my arms around his chest.

Hector kissed the top of my head. "Querida, I love you. I am ready for us to be together. It does not matter where we live. I just know I want to have you in my arms every night and I want to wake up with you in my arms every morning."

Well, that did it. My eyes filled with tears. He brushed my tears away and then his lips crashed on mine. I parted my lips to allow his tongue to fight with mine. We continued to negotiate the terms of the rental agreement late into the night.

The next morning, Hector dropped me off at the elevator, kissing me enough to make my head all goofy. I blinked and headed toward the elevators while he parked the SUV. I hit five and then two when I saw him running toward the closing doors of the elevator. He was going to his office before the meeting to call mama and let her know we were going to move into the apartment.

I stopped in the break room and got a cup of coffee and stopped to say hi to the guys in control room before heading to the morning meeting. They were watching the monitors intently so I peeked over Woody's shoulder to see what held their interest.

Whoa! Are you kidding me?

True to his word, Lester had a date last night. Bridget was coming out of the seventh floor apartment, shoes in hand. Lester was standing in his boxers in the doorway and grabbed her arm and pulled her into his arms for a bone-melting kiss. He was grinning at her as she got into the elevator to leave.

Ten minutes later Lester strolled into the conference room, humming his "Sexy and You Know It" theme song.

I rolled my eyes and punched his shoulder. "You're late, Santos!"

Tank asked us if we were ready for the distraction. He passed sheets of paper around the table so we could read the outline. Hector nodded his head and replied, "Si. Word is that Molina should be at his usual club Friday night."

"Alright. Everyone OK with the plan? Steph will go in, Hal will be behind the bar serving _no alcohol_ to her. Vince will be inside keeping an eye on her. Cal and Manny will be at the back door. Ram will take his position outside. Bobby and Hector will be at the front door waiting for them to come out. Lester and I will stay by the truck and will back up anyone that might need it." Tank outlined the plan and looked around the room.

I cleared my throat and asked, "How slutty?"

"Just the usual, little girl," Tank said while trying to suppress a grin. I rolled my eyes and started to get up.

Lester held up his hand and I sat back down. "There is something else. It appears Hernandez is stalking Bomber. There was a target painted on her door last night. Hector and I felt the guy was left handed. I checked Hernandez's file and he is left handed. We need someone in her lot 24/7 until we get him."

Ram nodded and said, "I'll put together a schedule."

"Anything else?" Tank asked.

"Si, Estephania has agreed to move out of her apartment," Hector said.

All of the guys broke out in smiles and cheered.

"Good for you, Bomber! It's about time you got out of that place," Bobby said. "Are you moving onto four?"

I reached for Hector's hand and he said, "No, she and I are moving to an apartment at my mother's house. She will be safe there."

The meeting pretty much went downhill from there. The guys all started talking at once. Tank decided we would make the move on Saturday morning. Lester, Bobby, Hal, Manny and Cal volunteered for Operation Bomber Move. Tank said he was coming along to keep everyone organized. I secretly thought the big guy just wanted to know where I was moving.

I kept looking from one of them to another one. It appeared all I had to do on Saturday was show up. They had it all planned. Getting boxes, packing, everything. I rolled my eyes. I may be moving from the 'Burg, but I was taking RangeMan with me.


	23. Chapter 23

_OK, sorry for the delay. Three re-writes later..._

Chapter 23

I sat there in the conference room and couldn't believe it. Ten huge men dressed in black were planning to pack my apartment and move me to mama's house. No one was paying any attention to me. Tank was dividing up packing chores, room by room. Ram and Hal were making lists of things to get for Operation Bomber Move. Boxes, tape, trash bags, bubble wrap, beer. Binkie said he would take care of getting Rex moved. He loved Rex. Suddenly everyone was in on the move. I don't even want to know who was on lingerie duty. _That_ drawer I would do myself, thank you very much, Santos!

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Finally I got up and left the room. I don't think they even noticed.

I was so ready for this day to be over. Hector and I were going to mama's for dinner. I was anxious to see her again plus I was eagerly anticipating what she was preparing for dinner. And I'm pretty sure there will be a party Saturday night. Mama loved parties.

I was starting to get excited about the move. Actually, I wouldn't mind moving today! I mean, that apartment is beyond awesome! I had lived most of my adult life in my crappy apartment, yet there wasn't much there that I wanted to take with me. Abso-fucking-lutely _none_ of the furniture! Hector's furniture in the apartment was ten times better than mine. Hell, everything Hector had in the apartment was better than mine.

Hector and I. We are going to live together for real. I had lived with Joe once in awhile. Disaster. I had lived with Ranger every now and then. While a lot of fun, it just didn't work out. And I had _never_ given up my apartment. I don't remember sitting down with either of them and deciding 'hey, let's live together'!

Of course, eventually, I would have to tell my family. Eh. They will find out soon enough once Hector and I are firmly planted in the apartment and his neighborhood. The grapevine will make sure of that. Was there some kind of crossover grapevine that travelled between neighborhoods and cultural boundaries? Mental head slap!

I spent the next hour trying to keep myself occupied running searches. My stomach growled loudly and I realized it was lunch time. Hector had an install with a client today so I headed to the break room. Bobby and Vince were in there having lunch. I picked out a turkey sandwich and a bottle of water and sat down with them.

"Hey, Bomber. You ready for the distraction tomorrow night?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, hell yeah. Can't wait." I replied. "Wouldn't miss it." Paint me white girl from the 'Burg and call me sarcastic.

Vince reached over and squeezed my hand. "You'll do fine. This guy is a major scumbag. We've been waiting for him for a long time. We will all have your back. I'm going to be inside watching you. Nobody gets our Bomber." Vince, being the oldest, was probably the most level-headed of the Merry Men.

"Thanks, guys. Sorry, but my spidey sense is off the radar." I said.

"Relax, Steph," Bobby said. "We've been over the training dozens of times. You're the best at this. We'll get him."

I gave him my 'everything is OK' fake smile. For years, I stubbornly fought Joe about the dangers of my job and blindly put myself into Ranger's hands. I didn't doubt for one minute the guys wouldn't take care of me but I wanted this one over and done with!

I finished my lunch and went back to my office. I fiddled with my computer, printed out the searches, organized my desk drawer and shopped for some shoes on line. I even gave my nails a quick coat of polish.

Two hours later, Hector stepped into my office. "Hey, querida. Want to go home and get ready for the inquisition?"

I jumped up from my desk and into his arms. "Yes! Get me out of here! I'm going nuts staying in the office. It's never good when I'm bored and my brain has free rein."

Hector pulled me into his chest and his lips crashed on mine. I groaned and kissed him back with everything I had. I missed him today. He was gone for a few hours and I missed him?

"I missed you, too," he said and grinned.

"Out loud?" I asked. He just gave me a look. A super-hot, sexy, panty ruining look.

I deleted my shopping cart and logged off my computer. We headed for the elevator and a few minutes later we were in the garage, straightening our clothes just a little bit. Hector guided me to his SUV and helped me inside. As soon as I was securely buckled in, he got into the driver side. He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. I don't think I would ever get tired of that gesture.

Once at my apartment, he helped me out of the SUV and guided me inside. He pressed the elevator button and I gratefully leaned against him. I know I needed to work out more but stress was beginning to get the upper hand here. I just wanted to get Hernandez and Molina put away and get on with my life. My life with Hector. Bad ass, dangerous Hector. My mother was going to have a coronary. And that pleased me to no end!

An hour and a half later, we were dressed and back in the SUV headed for mama's. For some reason, showering and dressing had proved to be really time consuming. All I remember is that I had a smile on my face that was not going to go away any time soon.

We pulled into mama's driveway and were instantly greeted with her non-stop Spanish and open arms. She pulled me from the SUV and hugged me tightly. Once again, she was dressed in jeans, a comfy cotton blouse and had her hair piled on top of her head. This little woman was bursting with energy. She wore almost no makeup and was absolutely gorgeous. How did she do that?

"Estephania! My child! I am so happy you are moving here! I cannot wait to have another daughter!" she cried. "Come in, come in. I have margaritas ready! This is so exciting!"

I let mama lead me into the house with Hector trailing behind us.

We went into the kitchen and I sat down on one of the bar stools. Mama had a pot on the stove and both ovens were on. The aroma in there was making me dizzy and my mouth began to water. Hector poured a margarita for me and one for mama.

"You're not having one?" I asked him as I sipped mine.

"I will. I am going upstairs for a minute," he said. "I'm going to get a set of keys for you."

Mama stirred what appeared to be seasoned rice in the pot. I strained my neck to see. She looked at me knowingly and said, "Estephania, does your family know you are moving?"

Shit. Here comes the 'mom' talk. 'Burg or not, mothers everywhere shared the 'mom' gene. I took a big gulp of my drink and replied, "No, not yet. I want to wait until it's done so nobody will try to talk me out of it. They don't like change. It's hard enough for them to tolerate what I do on a daily basis. Moving is liable to put somebody in a coma."

"Well, you have to tell them. They need to come to the party." Mama scolded.

"What party?" I asked innocently. I knew damn well mama would be having a party. I loved playing her straight man.

She laughed out loud at that. "Honestly, Estephania!"

Hector came back into the kitchen and asked, "Honestly what?" He helped himself to my margarita, refilled my glass and then poured himself one.

"Estephania has not told her family she is moving and you have not told her about the party!" Mama slapped him on the head.

"Mama, Estephania and I will tell her family soon." Hector said and ducked out of her reach.

I glared at him and shook my head furiously. I wonder how many Merry Men it would take to drag me to my parent's house?

He grinned at me and said, "And I am sure she knew there would be a party." He wrapped his arms around me and gave me a quick kiss. "Am I right?"

I smiled sweetly and stuck my tongue out at him. "Yeah, but I'm not inviting my family," I grumbled.

"How big is this party, mama?" Hector asked her. He peeked into the ovens. "Are you starting to cook already?"

Mama shrugged, "Oh, you know, just us and your friends." She turned back to the stove. "And your sister and her family and some of the neighbors," she added quietly.

Hector groaned, "Mama!" He began talking to her in Spanish. Mama fired right back at him in Spanish, shaking her wooden spoon in his face. They continued the verbal sparring for a few minutes before Hector grabbed the spoon and kissed his mother on her cheek. She stared at him and then they both started laughing. I watched them in fascination. I didn't understand a word they said but this was way more fun than my family.

"I want everyone to meet Estephania," mama explained as she filled our plates with rice and cheese smothered chicken burritos. "I have been waiting for this day since you finished the apartment for her. We will have many parties. We will have many things to celebrate, no?"

Oh, boy. I had the feeling Hector wasn't kidding about that grandchildren thing.


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

I started to hyperventilate. Black dots danced in front of my eyes. Shit, shit, shit! Celebrations? Mama wanted celebrations! Oh, hell, no!

Hector pushed my head between my legs and told me to breathe. He rubbed my back and whispered to me in Spanish, his lips against my ear. I moaned and tried to concentrate on breathing while his warm breath sent shivers down my spine and heat _just_ a little further south.

Mama jumped up and began chattering excitedly. "Hector, what is wrong? Can I get anything for her?"

"No, mama. She gets excited sometimes and this helps calm her down," he said softly.

My breathing finally returned to normal and I sat up. "I'm so sorry, mama. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm fine now. Sometimes my imagination gets the better of me." Imagination, my ass. I hadn't even moved in yet and mama was decorating the nursery.

Hector pushed my hair away from my face and kissed my forehead gently. His dark eyes met mine. He winked at me and smiled. I don't think I said that out loud but he obviously knew what I was thinking.

"Your imagination? What does that mean?" Mama asked. She sat back down and looked at me, her eyes full of concern.

"It means some celebrations will require more planning than others," Hector replied. His eyes still held mine with his gaze. I cupped his face with my hand, touching his teardrops with my thumb and I smiled at him.

"Oh," mama said. It took a couple of seconds before she nodded wisely and smiled, "Oooohhh. I understand. Estephania, please forgive me. I want you to be happy here. I want you and Hector to be happy together here." She reached across the table and squeezed my arm. Mama had accepted me as a daughter and had accepted me with Hector. She was nothing like my mother. There was no judgment, no criticism. Is this what a family felt like? If it was, I wanted it. All of it and it scared me to death!

I blinked and cleared my throat, "It's OK, mama. My mom has put so much pressure on me over the years to settle down, get married and have kids. I just had a little panic attack. Let's talk about Saturday!" One ticket to Denial Land, please.

Hector went into the kitchen and returned with the pitcher of margaritas. For the next two hours we ate, laughed and talked about us moving to the apartment. Needless to say, mama's enthusiasm returned. She was making lists of things we need to do or get for the apartment.

It was decided that the Merry Men would show up at my apartment at 9:00 a.m. There was no way I was getting up before that. Hector said that Tank would get donuts if we would have the coffee ready. Really? Tank was getting donuts? I might have to get up earlier to see that.

It was almost 10:00 when we left mama's. She walked us to the SUV and hugged me goodbye.

"Estephania," mama said. "I want you to know you have made me very happy. You have made my Hector very happy. There will be plenty of time for parties."

I hugged her back and Hector carefully loaded me in the SUV and buckled me in. Margarita number four had left me pleasantly mellow; however it had taken away my ability to walk unaided. He got in the driver seat and reached for my hand and leaned over and kissed me thoroughly.

"You taste salty," he said and grinned. "Margarita salty."

I giggled. "So do you." I pulled his head back to mine and nibbled on his lips. "Wanna make out?"

He laughed out loud. "Si, I do but I want you to remember it. We are going home and to bed. To sleep."

He put the SUV in gear. As soon as we pulled away from mama's house, I promptly fell asleep. I vaguely remembered getting carried from the SUV. I sort of woke up when Hector undressed me and put me into his t-shirt and some boxers.

"Sleep well, querida," he said. He kissed me gently and I snuggled into his shoulder and fell asleep. Sometime during the night I rolled over and Hector spooned me tightly against him. I sighed contentedly and went right back to sleep.

The next morning, I opened one eye and then the other. Ugh! Morning. I hate mornings. Especially after a margarita night. Damn. My hot body bed warmer was gone. I crawled out of bed and walked gingerly to the bathroom. I took care of things and took a peek at myself in the mirror. Geez. I looked like I had been zapped by lightning. I pulled my hair back into a half-assed ponytail.

I wandered back into the bedroom and got back into bed. I pulled the sheet and blanket up over my shoulders and wiggled back into my still warm spot. I loved how a person could get up, go to the bathroom and still get back before their spot had cooled.

I don't know where Hector was but I hoped when he came back he would have fries and a Coke. Or coffee and donuts. Or all of the above. My spidey sense perked up and I heard the locks tumble. A minute later Hector came into the bedroom. The greasy aroma of hot fries hit my nose and I popped my head up like a ground hog.

"Morning, querida," he said grinning. "You want breakfast in bed?"

I shot one arm out from under the blanket and reached toward him. He sat down on the bed and leaned back against the headboard. He put the Coke on the nightstand. Holding the fries in one hand, he began feeding them to me one at a time. He made me gradually sit up to get the fries until I was completely sitting up and leaning against the headboard beside him. I crawled across his lap and got the Coke. Oh, that tastes so good. Those tingly little bubbles helped clear my throat and I was starting to feel human again.

I curled up against Hector. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my forehead. "You going to work today?" he asked me.

"I don't know. I could use some time to get a few things done. I need to tell Dillon I'm moving. And I suppose I should tell Connie and Lula," I said. Notice I said nothing about telling my mother.

"Take today off. I am sure Tank will not mind. I will tell him when I go in," he said.

I ran my hand down his chest and tugged at his t-shirt. Once it pulled up, I slid my hand under it and stroked his chest and abs. "You know I could use a little kitty time here."

Hector drew in a breath and as fast as a cat pouncing on its prey, I found myself on my back pinned underneath him. His lips crashed on mine. He sucked my lower lip and I ran my tongue across his lips. He groaned and kissed me deeply. His hands were all over me at once, rubbing and caressing wherever he touched me. My t-shirt and boxers had disappeared and my belly was on fire. Hector stood up and peeled his t-shirt off, kicked off his shoes and unzipped his jeans. His beautiful brown eyes were glowing with desire. He pulled his jeans and boxers off and tossed them aside.

I licked my lips as he came back to the bed. My core was already dripping and clenching in anticipation. His warm brown skin felt like silk as he moved his body over mine. He kissed my breasts and sucked each nipple making them harden like little stones. I reached down and stroked his throbbing cock. He moaned and began kissing my neck, nipping my earlobes. I started whimpering and spread my legs, arching my back to press myself against him.

"Dios, Estephania! I need you!" he growled.

I moaned and said, "I need you, too! Now, please!"

Hector reached between my legs and rubbed my aching clit with his fingers. He transferred some of my wetness to his cock and moved over me. I wrapped my legs around his hips as he swiftly entered me. We both cried out with pleasure and he began slowly thrusting inside of me, going deeper each time. I pushed my hips against his with each trust and clung to his shoulders. My entire body began to tingle and I felt like I would explode any second. Just as I began to quiver and my muscles clenched around him, he groaned and began to pump faster.

"Cum with me, querida! Let go and cum with me!"

I shrieked and bit into his shoulder as my orgasm ripped through my body. Hector thrust deeply into me and groaned with his release. He shuddered and then rolled to his back still inside of me, pulling me onto his chest and clutched me tightly.

"Oh, my God," I gasped. I felt his chest heaving beneath me. Our chests were slick with sweat.

"Dios! I love you, Estephania. I love you so much!"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

"I love you, too, Hector."

I raised my head to look into his eyes. He smiled at me and I kissed him softly. I put my hands on his chest and carefully sat up, sliding to my knees, not breaking our connection. I pushed my hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ears and smiled down at him. I squeezed my muscles around him and was instantly rewarded with his hard erection. I began to move my hips forward and back, slowing riding him. I leaned forward and kissed him, my tongue begging entrance to his mouth. He parted his lips and our tongues dueled. I sat back up and started moving on him a little faster. His hips were pushing against mine and he grasped my hips as he thrust upward inside of me.

"Estephania! You are going to kill me!" he groaned.

"Yeah, but you'll die happy!" I threw my head back and cried out and let my release come. My legs began to shake and I clenched tightly around him. I felt his hot release flood inside of me. My eyes closed and I lowered my head to my chest. My body trembled twice again. Mmmmmm. Aftershocks.

Hector rolled us again so that I was on my back. He slowly slid out of me and turned on his side, taking his weight off me. He gently caressed my breasts and traced little circles on my belly.

"Querida, I am sorry mama scared you last night. We are not ready for that yet, but I cannot stop thinking of our child inside of you," he said softly.

I took a deep breath and said, "I have to be honest, I have thought of it too. This has all happened so fast with us. You know how I have been so afraid of committing to a relationship. And you know how my mother has been so awful to me about it. But everything feels so different with you. I love you so much."

"I love you too, Estephania. We do not have to do anything until we are ready. We will know when the time is right," he said.

"How do you always manage to say the right thing?" I asked him.

He chuckled and hugged me against his chest. He kissed my forehead and said, "Because we are right for each other. And I need to go to work or we could end up making a baby today!"

"Hector!" I squealed and slapped his arm. I collapsed on him and giggled.

He unceremoniously dumped me on my ass and got out of bed. He went into the bathroom and I heard the shower start. I could go in there and _help_ him. Mental head slap. I lay back in the bed and stared at the ceiling. Every time I thought I was in love, it was so much work. There were tense moments, times when I wasn't myself, trying to be someone that _they_ wanted. Trying to fit into a mold that their life allowed. With Hector, there was no game playing, no pretending. He was street-smart and unpredictable. I was uncontrollable Burg. We were perfect for each other.

Hector came back into the bedroom and I caught my breath. Holy crap! His body was amazing. He grinned at me as he put on clean boxers. I hopped out of bed, kissed the cat eyes on his back and picked up my t-shirt and pulled it on. He had put on jeans and a t-shirt. He was looking pretty bad-ass. I don't know where he put his weapons but I was sure he was armed to the teeth.

"You're not playing RangeMan today?" I asked him.

"No. I am going in for a while but then I am going out see some of my friends," he answered.

"Your friends?" I asked.

"Si. You will meet a couple of them on Saturday," he said.

I didn't want to sound like the clingy girlfriend here but I asked him, "Should I be worried? You're not going to kill anyone are you?"

"No, querida," he laughed. "Most of us have outgrown that."

Smart-ass!

I followed him to the door where he pulled me into his arms and gave me a mind-boggling kiss.

"Try not to blow anything up today, querida." He turned and left my apartment before I could grab anything to throw at him.

I headed back to the bedroom and tossed our dirty clothes in the hamper. I went into the bathroom and took a nice, long hot shower. I wonder how big the water heater is in Hector's apartment. Excuse me, our apartment. Ooooh, and the jetted tub. I can't wait to try it out.

I pulled my hair back and tied it loosely. I put on some shorts and a sports bra.

In a couple of days, I would be living in a completely different place. No more Burg. No more gossip. I would no longer be the subject du jour. Well, at least I wouldn't hear about it as it happened. I needed to tell Dillon. I ran through a mental list. I needed to tell Connie and Lula. And Mary Lou and Joe. Hell, I needed to tell my family. Shit.

I padded out to the kitchen and fed Rex. I refilled his water and dropped a couple of grapes in his cage. He poked his head out of this soup can and blinked at me. I took that as a thank you.

I might as well get it started. I called the bonds office. I was shocked when Lula answered the phone.

"Hi, Lula," I said. "Why are you answering the phone?"

"Cuz Connie just painted her nails, white girl! Tankie says you are moving! Tell me 'bout that! Where you moving to? When you moving?" Lula was practically yelling.

"Hey, calm down, Lula!" I yelled back at her. "We just decided the other night."

"Well, Tankie said you was moving in with Hector! What's that all about? What's Batman going to say?"

"I don't give a flying rat's ass about what Ranger thinks. Hector and I are moving to an apartment together. The guys are moving me on Saturday." I replied.

"Damn, white girl! Connie said somethin' was going on with you two but I told her she was crazy. Ain't he gay?" Lula asked.

"Nope, he's not. Far from it."

"He does have one hell of a fine body! Spill!" Lula demanded.

"Nope. The only thing I'll spill is that we are together and I've never been happier."

"What yo' mama say about that on account he's one scary dude?" Lula asked.

"I don't know. My mother doesn't know about him! Yet. I'm sure someone will call her soon enough." My brain blanked out there for a minute as I recalled this morning.

"You tell Dillon yet? What you gonna do with your apartment?"

I blinked and cleared my head of the Hector induced brain fog. "I thought I'd see if Grandma Mazur wants it. My dad would love it if she moved out. She and Mrs. Brestler should get along great. RangeMan has my rent paid up for a few months. You want to go with me to tell Dillon and Mary Lou?"

"Heck, yeah! I'm up for a little excitement. Ain't no tellin' what will happen with you!"

"Come by in about 30 minutes. I gotta finish getting dressed," I said. "And bring coffee!"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I headed for the bedroom and dug through my dresser for some cutoff jean shorts and pulled them on. I added a blue v-neck t-shirt and put on my favorite sneakers. I went into the bathroom and tidied up my hair. I added a couple of layers of mascara to the look.

I heard Lula's Firebird roar into the parking lot 10 minutes before she knocked at my door.

"Hey, white girl! Here's yo' coffee. Lots of sugar and milk. And I brought donuts. You owe me! Is that Ranger's Porsche sittin' in yo' lot?" Lula bustled into my apartment. I rolled my eyes. Her hair was pink. She was wearing a hot pink tube top and a black leather mini, mini skirt. She was wearing leopard print impossibly high heels. God love her.

"Yup, that's his Porsche. He gave it to me. Sort of a going away present."

We went to the table and sat down. Lula took a couple of donuts from the bag and handed the bag to me. I took out a Boston crème donut for myself and took a big bite. I moaned. I hope there is a good bakery in Hector's neighborhood.

Lula bit into her donut and drank some of her coffee. Then she turned to me, "So tell me what the hell happened with Batman. I thought you two was gettin' yo' shit together."

I licked my fingers and drank some of my coffee. "Yeah, well, that didn't work out so well. He moved back to Miami. He and Rachel are having another baby."

"Shut the front do'!" Lula clasped her hand to her chest. "They gonna have another baby and he jus' walked out on you? Jus' like that?"

"Pretty much," I replied. I drank the rest of my coffee and glanced at Lula.

She actually had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry, white girl. I know you loved him. You shoulda called me."

Wow. I had never seen this side of Lula. I smiled at her. "I didn't call anyone. I ran away. My standard reaction to anything I don't want to face." I rolled my eyes.

Lula clucked and said, "Still, I woulda had yo' back. We coulda done a girls night or gone shoppin'."

"I went to Point Pleasant. Hector came after me and brought me home. He's been here with me since then," I said. "And now I've got another stalker. I'm so tired of that crap. I want to get out of this place. Hector asked me to move in with him. He has an awesome apartment at his mother's house. Wait till you see it!"

"Huh! And he ain't gay!" Lula said, more of a statement than a question.

"Not in the _slightest_," I said and grinned at her. "Come on, let's go tell Dillon."

I got up and pulled at Lula's hands to help her up. "I can't believe you is givin' up yo' apartment. You never did that not even for Batman," she said.

I grinned at her again and said, "Batman isn't as _persuasive _as Hector." I grabbed my purse and keys. I followed Lula out the door and locked up.

Lula grabbed my arm and steered me toward the elevator. "I ain't doin' no stairs! Nuh uh. I could hurt myself in these shoes!"

We took the elevator down to the basement and found Dillon in his work room. He looked up and grinned at us. "What are you two up to today?" he asked, wiping his hands on a rag.

"Um, Dillon, I need to tell you I'm moving out on Saturday," I said.

Lula piped up, "Yeah, she got herself a hottie to move in with and it ain't Ranger!"

"Stephanie! No! Don't tell me that! You can't move out. What are we going to do for excitement around here?" Dillon exclaimed.

"Well, Ranger paid my rent up for the rest of the year. I thought I'd see if my grandma wants to move in. If that's OK with you."

Dillon's eyes widened, "Hell, Steph! Your grandma is worse than you! Will she bring Big Blue?"

"Probably. She can't drive but Mrs. Brestler can," I quipped. "You'll need to keep an eye on them for me! I'll come by after I move and give you my keys." I kissed his cheek. "See you later."

After we left Dillon, Lula and I took off in her Firebird. She had the stereo blasting so conversation was impossible.

We pulled up in front of Mary Lou's house and went to the door. I could hear Mary Lou yelling at the kids. There was a crash and then it sounded like horses running through the house. I rang the doorbell and waited.

"What?!" shouted Mary Lou as she opened the door. She immediately smiled. "Oh, shit, Steph! I didn't know it was you. Hi, Lula!"

"Hey, Mare. Did we come at a bad time?" I asked her.

"No, this is normal. Are you sure you want to come in?" Mare blew her hair out of her eyes and stepped to the side so we could go in the house.

We went into the kitchen and Mare swept the table of dishes. One of the boys came into the kitchen and she turned him around by the shoulders and walked him out of the room. "Stay out. All of you! I have company!"

"You want one?" Mare asked as she sank into a chair.

"Uh, not right now!" I said and laughed. Mare had three boys. I was so glad it was her and not me.

"Too bad. I'd let you have one real cheap," she sighed. I got up, pulled some coffee mugs out of the dishwasher and picked up the coffee pot and came back to the table. Mare poured us all a cup. I went to the refrigerator and poured some milk into mine and then got some sugar from the canister on the counter.

Mare took a drink of her coffee and asked, "What are you two doing? Don't tell me one of my neighbors skipped bail."

"No, nothing like that. I wanted to tell you I am moving out of my apartment on Saturday. I'm moving in with Hector. You know Hector, my partner?" I took a drink of my coffee and waited for Mare to say something. She just sat there and blinked at me. "Mare!" I snapped my fingers in front of her face.

"I'm sorry, Steph. I thought you said you were moving in with Hector," Mare said.

"Damn skippy, she is!" Lula said. "And she ain't told her mother yet!"

I glared at her. "Lula!"

Mare slowly took another drink of her coffee and then said, "Let me get this straight. You are leaving your apartment and moving in with Hector, your partner? The one with the tattoos? The one that is gay?"

"Yes, no! I mean, yes, I am moving in with him. And no, he is not gay. I wish people would quit saying that! We are together as in a _couple_." I said.

"He's not gay. And you are moving in with him. You, the commitment-phobe, agreed to move in with Hector? What have I missed here?" Mare asked.

"Well, you know Ranger and I were sort of in a thing." I heard Lula snort. I glared at her. "It's a long story, I'll tell you later, but he left to go back to Miami a week ago." I started to explain. God, I can't believe it's only been a week. "Hector has been staying with me since then. My apartment is a crazy magnet. So Hector asked me to move in with him."

When I said it like that, it all made perfect sense to me. I don't know why everyone was having such a hard time believing that Hector and I are together.

"You want me to start the grapevine or are you going to your parent's house next?" Mare asked and sipped her coffee. She made it sound so matter of fact.

I groaned. "Geez, Mare. I will tell them. I just don't want to right now. I want to wait until after the move. Will you keep it to yourself?"

Mare patted my arm and said, "Sure. No problem."

Just then, we heard a shriek and a loud thud coming from the living room. Mare just rolled her eyes.

I laughed and got up. I rinsed our cups in the sink. "We better go. Sounds like someone may need stitches."

Mare sighed. "Would you believe I can actually do that myself now?"

Lula and I rolled our eyes and we quickly left the house. Once in the car we both burst out laughing.

I looked at Lula and said, "_That_ is something I don't want to see!" I hoped she was joking.

"I'm hungry!" Lula said as she put the Firebird in gear. "You want Cluck-in-a-Bucket?"

"Sure," I said and laughed again.

Lula screeched into the Cluck-in-a-Bucket parking lot. She was fumbling in her purse as she threw the Firebird into park.

"Day'amn! There's Norman Peterson! I got the file on him right here. C'mon, white girl. Let's go get 'im!" Lula shouted.

"What? That's one of your skips?" I groaned. I so did not want to get dirty or hurt today. But I grabbed my purse and followed Lula out of the car.

"Hey! Norman!" Lula took off running toward a 30-ish, mild mannered Clark Kent looking guy.

Norman turned and stared at Lula barreling toward him. He looked like he didn't know whether to run or duck and cover. He must have decided to run. He ducked around Lula and ran. Straight toward me.

Oh, shit.

"Get him, Stephanie!" Lula yelled.

For a split second, I froze. Then months of working at RangeMan and training with the guys kicked in. I stepped in front of Norman, smoothly pulled my gun from my purse and pointed it at him. "Stop!" I commanded him.

Norman skidded to a stop just inches in front of me. He put his hands up in surrender. Lula had caught up with him and slapped cuffs on his right arm and jerked it behind his back. She grabbed his left arm and pulled it back and cuffed him.

Lula was gasping for air but she managed to bark out, "Norman Peterson! You are in violation of yo' bond agreement! You need to come with me!" She shoved him toward the Firebird.

"Way to go, Lula!" I walked over to her and gave her a high-five.

"We gonna have to do lunch later, white girl. I gotta take this piece of crap to the cop shop," she said.

I grinned at her. "No problem. I'll call the guys and get a ride home."

Lula tossed Norman into her Firebird and roared off in a cloud of dust.

I pulled out my phone and called Tank.

"Yo."

I rolled my eyes. "Hey, Tank. I need a ride home. I'm at Cluck-in-a-Bucket."

There was a moment of silence and then Tank asked, "What are you doing there?"

I blew out a breath. "I was with Lula. She saw one of her skips and we took him down. She's taking him in now and I need to get home."

I could picture Tank running his hand over his bald head and staring down at his desk. "You in one piece? You need Bobby?"

"Nope! I'm clean and unharmed," I said proudly. Clean and unharmed. Probably a first for me.

"Someone will be there in five." Tank said and disconnected. Geez. Why can't these guys say goodbye!

Three minutes later, a black SUV pulled into the lot. I wonder who drew Bomber duty?

The passenger flew open and I saw a grinning Lester in the driver seat. He wagged his eyebrows.

"Need a ride, Beautiful?


	27. Chapter 27

For everyone who thought that takedown went a little too smoothly...and for those who have been waiting for Ranger to resurface, enjoy!

Chapter 27

I rolled my eyes. Lester. Great. Just what I need right now. Actually, maybe it _was_ just what I need right now. My best friend.

"Hey, Lester," I said, smiling. "Drew the short straw, did you?"

Lester grinned and replied, "I prefer to think the right straw, Beautiful."

I got in the SUV and buckled up. Lester looked at me and said, "Not dressed for RangeMan. Where we headed?"

"My apartment, please," I said. "I took today off and ended up with Lula chasing a skip."

Lester laughed, "Is her Firebird still in one piece?"

I punched his shoulder. "On second thought, how about Pino's? I could use some lunch."

Lester put the SUV in gear but before we had driven two blocks, he slammed on the brakes.

"What?" I threw my hand out to brace myself against the dash. The seatbelt locked and kept me from being thrown forward.

"Holy shit! There's Lula! And some guy is chasing her!" Lester exclaimed.

I looked where he was pointing and sure enough, there was Lula running toward us as fast as her high heels allowed, eyes bugged out and arms wind-milling. Mild mannered Norman Peterson was right on her heels brandishing a gun.

Lester stopped the SUV and effortlessly stepped out with his gun drawn, using the car door as a shield. His eyes were dark as night and I saw his jaw clenching. "Drop the gun! Drop the gun, now!" he yelled at Norman as Lula grabbed for the back door of the SUV and dove into the back seat.

"Help! Somebody stop that asshole!" she yelled.

Suddenly the windshield shattered and I ducked the flying glass and flattened myself onto the front seat. Ol' Norman had fired at the SUV. Lester fired once and Norman fell to the pavement and grabbed his thigh. Within seconds, Lester was on him, kicking the gun away. He jerked Norman to his feet and in a flash had him cuffed. Norman was wailing that he was going to die.

Lester half carried, half dragged poor Norman to the SUV. "You're not going to die, jackass! Shut up or I'll give you something to scream about!" he growled at the now whimpering Norman.

"You can come out now, Lula," Lester said and opened the back door. Lula slowly crawled out of the SUV, keeping a wide berth away from Norman. Lester threw Norman toward the SUV. He bounced off the rear fender and slumped to the pavement.

Lester opened the passenger door and unbuckled my seatbelt. He helped me out of the SUV and pulled me tightly to his chest. "You OK, Beautiful? Did anything hit you?" His hands ran over my head, neck and shoulders. I nodded my head.

"I'm OK. I don't think anything hit me. I don't see blood anywhere," I said into his shoulder. "Is Lula OK?"

Lester released me from his arms and I turned toward Lula. She was still puffing trying to get her breath back. She looked a little worse for the wear but she wasn't bleeding either.

"You believe that asshole? He tried to kill us! Somebody call a cop! I'm filing charges! I'm gonna have a heart attack! I need a ambulance!" She was shouting, her hand clutched her chest and she was pacing in circles.

"Lula!" I yelled at her. "Calm down. Look at me! What happened?" I went over to her and grabbed her flailing arms.

"That son-of-a-bitch got out of the cuffs and took my gun! He was gonna shoot me! That ain't never happened befo'! 'Cept maybe with you, white girl!"

Lester had walked over to where Norman had fallen and picked up Lula's gun. His face was still dark and intimidating. I turned toward tires screeching beside the SUV. I rolled my eyes. Morelli. Two black SUVs pulled up behind Joe. Tank and Ram jumped out of one and Hector jumped out of the second one. I burst into tears at the sight of him.

Hector ran to me and wrapped his arms around me. "Querida! Are you OK? What happened?" I threw my arms around his neck. He gave me a tight squeeze and then his hands cupped my face. He kissed me tenderly and brushed the tears from my face.

"I was with Lula, we went to Mary's Lou's and we went to go eat, then Lula saw one of her skips and she left to go after him and Lester came to get me and then this guy was chasing Lula and he shot the car!" I sobbed. "I don't want to do this anymore, Hector! I don't want to get shot at anymore!"

Hector pulled me against his chest. He was rubbing my back and softly said, "Shhh, querida. Everything is OK now. I will take you home."

I hiccupped quietly and nodded my head. Joe had walked over to us. I sucked in a breath. Shit, not now Morelli. I don't need to hear it. He just looked at Hector and asked, "She OK?"

Huh?

"Si, just scared," Hector replied and tucked my curls behind my ears. He winked at me. "She is fine now."

Joe nodded once. "Steph, I have Lula's and Lester's statement. I just need you to sign it and then you can go," Joe said calmly. He handed me his clipboard and I signed where he indicated. "Thanks, Steph. Take care of her, man," he said and did that hand shake thing with Hector. I stared in disbelief as Joe walked over to Norman and hauled him up by his shirt. He threw him into his car and drove away.

Tank walked over to us and asked Hector, "She OK?"

"Hey, I can hear you! I'm right here! I'm fine!" I yelled at him.

Tank, Lula, Ram, Lester and Hector all stared at me like I had two heads.

"I might be a little hungry, though," I said quietly.

The next day, Hector and I pulled into the RangeMan garage and parked next to Lester's windshield-less SUV. Hector helped me out of the SUV and placed his hand at my back and guided me to the elevator to the fifth floor. He walked me to my office and kissed me. Once I was sufficiently breathless, he grinned and went downstairs to his office.

A few minutes later, Lester came into my office and plopped down in a chair. "That was fun yesterday, Beautiful. I should go with you and Lula more often."

"Ass!" I glared at him.

He wagged his eyebrows. "I can't wait to see what happens tonight with Molina."

"Yeah, about that. Yesterday made me realize that I'm in a real relationship with Hector. I'm looking forward to moving in with him and having a real life. I don't think I want to do distractions anymore. I like working in the office and not getting hurt," I said and bit my lip.

"Really?" he looked at me and frowned. "But distractions with you are so much fun!"

"Well, wait until you fall in love with someone," I said and pointed a finger at him.

Lester's face went blank. His eyes glazed over.

I stared at him. "Shit. You're in love with Bridget!"

He grinned sheepishly and shrugged.

"Oh. My. God! Lester! Have you told her?"

"I'm going to ask her to marry me tonight. Don't say a word to anyone! Please?"

I started to cry and Lester panicked. "Shit, Beautiful, don't cry!" He jumped out of his chair.

I wiped at my cheeks with the back of my hand and went over to hug him. "I'm happy for you, Les. I'm really happy for you. I can't wait to celebrate."

Hmm. A celebration, mama. I smiled. "Now get out. I have work to do!"

The rest of the morning I worked on payroll and schedules for next week. Hector came upstairs and we had lunch in the break room. My stomach was flip-flopping and it wasn't because of him. I was having pre-distraction butterflies. I really wanted this one over.

Five o'clock finally came and Hector drove me to my apartment so I could get ready. He held my hand all the way home and helped me out of the SUV. He laced our fingers together and we took the elevator to the second floor. When we reached my apartment, I stood to the side so Hector could make sure everything was OK. I noticed Dillon had painted my door. Red. Geez. I rolled my eyes. Everyone was a comedian.

"Estephania, querida. I need to go back and get ready. I will come back for you at 9:00. Will you be OK here?" he asked. He placed his hands on my hips and began kissing my neck, nibbling his way to the other side. If he didn't leave, there was no telling if the distraction would happen tonight. Well, there would be a distraction. Right here and now.

I nodded my head, "Yes, I'll be fine. If anything happens, I will call you. I'll keep my panic button with me."

After Hector left, I flopped back on the bed in my thinking position. I let myself doze a little and jerked awake two hours later. Crap. I need to get it in gear so I'd be ready when Hector came back.

I went to my closet to see what slut-worthy clothes I could come up with. Most of the time when I did a distraction, I threw the clothes away. However, this guy had money and would want something a little more high class than the usual slut.

I picked a black halter dress that I bought a couple of years ago on one of _those_ shopping trips with Lula but never wore. Crap. This one didn't allow for any bra and just the barest of a thong. The skirt fell mid-thigh. I went into the bathroom to redo my makeup and get my hair fluffed out as much as I could. About an hour later, I went to the closet to find some shoes. Ah, there they are. My favorite little strappy 4" FMPs.

I changed into a black thong and stepped into the halter dress. Just as I was zipping up the back, my cell phone rang.

I was hopping on one foot trying to get my shoes on. I absently hit connect and said, "Yo."

"Babe."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Holy crap! My heart thudded so violently in my chest, I thought it would choke me. My legs had turned to rubber and I nearly fell to the floor. I closed my eyes and sat down on the edge of my bed. All of the air had been sucked out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe.

"Ranger!" I gasped. "What the hell?"

"Please be careful tonight, Babe," he said quietly.

_That_ threw me for a loop! "O…OK," I managed to squeak out.

"Go get 'em, tiger."

I gulped and took a deep breath and said the only thing I could think of, "Don't get shot."

"Don't go crazy."

The call disconnected. I stared at my phone blankly. What the hell was that? He had caught me totally off guard. I never had a chance to collect my thoughts. Why did he call? Why now? Why tonight?

Of course he would know about tonight. He was always the one to take me to distractions and he would take me home. He would wait until I had showered the scum off me. He would wrap me in his arms and take me to bed. All of the distractions I've done over the last few years played out in my mind like a newsreel. I could see each slutty outfit I wore. I could see each of the rat bastard targets. I could see and _feel_ Ranger pulling me into his arms and kissing me senseless. I could feel him placing the wire under my breast. His fingers would pause and brush across my nipples. Damn him! It was just _foreplay_!

I sat on my bed for what seemed like forever. All of the things I should have said to him were flying around inside my head. I wanted to scream at him and tell him to leave me the fuck alone. My breathing evened out and I just stared at the floor. I caught my breath again. Shit! The only time I had done a distraction without him was when he was in the wind.

He was going in the wind!

I recognized that calm, collected tone of his voice. He always came to me before he left. It centered him. I took another deep breath and let out a deep sigh and shook my head to clear it. Dammit! Damn him! He had left me for Rachel and he was still fucking with my head! But I said a silent prayer that he _would_ come back. He just wouldn't be coming back to me.

I heard the locks tumble. Hector was back. I frantically scanned my bedroom to make sure I had everything I needed for tonight. My head whipped around as Hector entered the bedroom. For a few seconds, I felt light-headed. God, he was hot! He had changed from street clothes to full badass RangeMan black. He had on his vest and a fully equipped utility belt.

"Querida, what is wrong?"

This was _not_ the time to tell him about the call.

I stood up and smoothed my dress. I smiled at him and said, "Nothing. Just some last minute jitters."

Hector pulled me into his arms and kissed me deeply. My lips parted and his tongue fought with mine for control. I moaned and he groaned. I clutched his shoulders and pressed myself into his hips. I needed him. _Now_. I groaned. Damn Sonny Molina!

"We need to go, Hector," I gasped. "We need to go get the bad guy."

He hugged me tightly. "Dios, querida. You are more beautiful than ever! I will kill this man if he touches you. I have never wanted you to do these. There is too much danger."

I leaned back and looked into his deep brown eyes. "How about if this is my last one?" I asked him.

He cupped my face with his hands and his eyes darkened. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. I want to have a normal life. Well, normal for us, anyway. The jury is still out on the whole white picket fence and kids thing." I rolled my eyes. Hector grinned at me.

"Estephania, you do not know how happy this makes me. Now that you are mine, I do not want anything to happen to you," he said. "Tank will have to find some other way for these take downs." He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me tenderly. "I love you, querida."

"I love you, too," I whispered.

We left my apartment and Hector placed his hand at my back. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. He walked straight to the elevator. I couldn't help but smirk a little. He helped me into the SUV. Once we were buckled in and on our way, he took my hand and kissed the back of it. Then he laced our fingers together and held my hand tightly until we reached the club. Neither of us felt the need for talking.

We pulled into the club parking lot and he turned to me. "Are you ready, querida?"

"Yes, let's get this over with." I saw three black SUVs in the lot. I mentally ticked off the list of Merry Men that should be here. Tank, Lester, Bobby, Vince, Hal, Ram, Cal, Manny. For a second, I wondered if anyone was back at RangeMan on monitor duty.

Hector took out the mic and my earpiece. He got out of the SUV and came around to help me out of the passenger side. Once I stepped out of the SUV, I leaned back against the side. Hector took the mic and slipped it inside my dress and taped it to the underside of my left breast. He gently adjusted my dress pulling the deep V-neck closer together. I grinned. I put my earpiece in and fluffed my hair to make sure it was covered.

He pulled me into his arms and hugged me. I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up and kissed him. I let my hands run down his back and I pulled at his t-shirt until it was loose from his waistband. I put the fingers of my right hand to my lips and kissed them. Then I slipped my hand inside his shirt and touched his back where the cat eyes were.

"Let's do this." I said.

"I will be right here waiting for you. You are my life and my love, Estephania."

"And you are mine, Hector," I whispered. "I'll be right back."

I heard Tank's voice in my ear. "OK, Hal, are you ready? Vince?"

"Ready," replied Hal followed by Vince's confirmation. They were my guys on the inside. "Ready when you are, Bomber," Ram said. I knew Ram was somewhere hidden completely out of sight. Manny and Cal were covering the back door.

I walked up to the door and Hector took his place in the shadow to the left. Bobby was on the right side. I glanced back at Tank and Lester and nodded.

I went inside and paused while my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting of the club. It wasn't too bad of a place. Most of the people were dressed casually. It didn't look like a fight was going to break out any minute. There were tables to the left and dance floor to the right. The bar was straight toward the back.

"Good evening, miss," a deep voice said. I jumped and looked behind me. Vince.

"Shit, Vince, you scared me!"

He grinned at me. "Allow me to escort you to the bar, miss."

I rolled my eyes. These guys had way too much fun doing these. I could hear Lester laughing through my earpiece. Vince walked me to the bar and pulled out a barstool for me. He nodded to Hal and then walked back to the door.

"What can I get for you, miss?" Hal asked. He tilted his head slightly to his left. There were two empty barstools beside me. The next one was occupied by Sonny Molina, who had his eyes glued to my _girls_.

"I'll have what he's having," I purred at Hal, loud enough for Molina to hear me. Right on cue, he stood and moved to the barstool next to me. He held up two fingers for Hal, indicating one for me and he needed a refill.

Molina's eyes crinkled at the corners and he smiled at me. He really didn't look like a scumbag. He was 40-ish, wearing a white, button-down shirt and khaki slacks. He had picked up a sport coat and draped it over the barstool beside him.

"I don't think I've seen you here before. Sonny Molina," he said and held out his hand. I offered him my hand, "Michelle." He took my hand and raised it to his lips and kissed the back of it. I suppressed a shudder and smiled at him, pulling my hand away.

"Nice to meet you, Michelle. Are you here alone?" Molina asked.

"I am now. My boyfriend was supposed to meet me here but he just called and said he was working late. This is our one year anniversary." I snorted and took a big drink of whatever Hal had put in front of me. I tasted club soda and nothing else. "I don't think he's working late, you know what I mean?" I tossed my head and looked at Molina.

"Whatever he's doing, he's crazy for leaving you alone. You are beautiful and it's a shame to waste it on an asshole," Molina said. He took a sip of his drink. "I could keep you company if you'd like."

Hook, line and sinker. I had him. I smiled and cooed, "Sure. I don't think I want to stay here, though. He may show up after all."

"Not a problem." Molina tossed back the rest of his drink. "We can go to my place. It isn't far." He stood and slipped on the sport coat. He tossed some bills on the bar and turned to me.

I slid off the barstool and started to walk to the door. Suddenly, Molina grabbed my left arm tightly and jerked me in front of him, shoving me toward the door.

I gasped and let out a cry. "You're hurting me!" I cried.

"Shut up and keep walking," Molina growled at me. I tried to pull my arm away but he just clenched his hand tighter.

Just before we reached the door, Vince stepped in front of us. "Are you alright, miss? Is this man bothering you?"

I didn't think Molina's grip could get any tighter but it became excruciating. I was sure my arm was about to break. Damn, that's going to leave a mark.

"She's fine," Molina hissed. "We are just leaving. Isn't that right, sweetheart?"

"Um, yeah, we're just leaving." My eyes met Vince's. His eyes narrowed and he nodded. "Let me get the door for you, then," he said evenly.

###########

_Many thanks to everyone who has sent reviews and encouraged me to continue this story!_


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

As we stepped through the door, Molina released my arm. But he slid his left arm around my waist, trapping my arms and lifted me so that my feet barely touched the ground. Shit, I wouldn't be able to fake a stumble.

"Bomber's in trouble." I heard Vince say.

"Please. Let go of me. I'll leave with you. Just don't hurt me," I pleaded with Molina. Anything to give the guys a chance to grab this asshole.

"That's right, sweetheart. You are leaving with me. I have some friends that will be very glad to meet you," Molina sneered in my ear and he jammed a gun into my ribs.

Just then I heard the unmistakable sound of the safety being released on several guns from all directions. I felt like the cavalry had just arrived. Oh, thank God!

Tank and Lester stepped into view. Both had their guns drawn. "Bond enforcement!" Tank yelled. "Put your gun down now!" I damn near peed on the spot.

Molina stopped but he kept the gun in my ribs. He let me down enough so that I could stand. But the arm around my waist snaked up to my neck where his hand circled my throat and began to tighten. I clawed at his arm to pull it away. Who was this guy? Iron Man?

"Drop the gun and let her go!" Hector growled from behind us. Vince was standing next to Hector, his gun also drawn. I couldn't see Bobby. But I knew he had probably moved off to the side.

Molina turned toward Hector, never loosening his grip on my throat. He snarled at me. "You fucking cunt! You're a decoy!" He began backing us away from Hector and Vince. Hector's eyes were black and he slowly walked toward us. His gun was pointed right at Molina's head. The look on Hector's face was petrifying. A cold chill ran down my spine.

I whimpered as Molina dragged me toward a car. I heard Ram whisper, "I don't have a clean shot."

"Hang on, Bomber," Bobby whispered. "We'll get him."

Molina turned again toward Tank. Lester had moved over to the right side. Their guns were still drawn. No one was backing down an inch. Molina was essentially surrounded but I sensed he wasn't going to give up. "I'll tell you what, you asses. All of you drop your guns. I'm leaving and this little bitch is going with me," he said.

Tank took a step toward us and roared, "Over my dead body!"

"Have it your way!" Molina yelled.

I watched horrified as Molina raised his gun from my side and fired at Tank. Tank fell back and to the ground. I screamed. I heard Molina gasp and his body stiffened. His hand let go of my throat and I whirled away from him. I ran to the shadows and right into Bobby's arms. He pushed me behind him and kept his gun drawn. I looked around him and saw Molina on the ground.

Hector was at my side in an instant. I launched myself into his arms and began sobbing. He cupped my head to his shoulder with his left hand and rubbed my back with his right hand. He was whispering in Spanish, his lips against my hair.

"It is OK now, querida. You are safe. I have you now," he said softly.

"He shot Tank!" I wailed.

"Tank is fine. He was wearing his vest," Hector said.

"Huh? Really? He's OK?" I pulled away from him and turned to see Tank standing and pulling off his t-shirt. Bobby carefully prodded Tank's chest while Tank swore at him. Even with the vest on, Tank was going to have one hell of a bruise from the bullet.

Bobby grumbled at Tank and turned to me. "Let me see you, Bomber. Where did he hurt you?" He pulled out his flashlight. I held out my arm and Bobby sucked in a breath. "Shit, Steph. It's already bruising. Let me see your neck. There's bruising there too. Does your throat feel OK?"

I nodded my head, "Yeah, it hurts some but I can still talk."

Bobby pulled a small pouch out of his bag. He rubbed it between his hands and shook it a couple of times. "Put this cold patch on your arm. Keep it there for about an hour. It will help with the swelling. I'll give you a couple more to take home with you. If it starts hurting a lot, let me know and I'll get something for you."

I stared at Molina lying motionless on the ground. Who shot him? The only shot I heard was when he shot Tank. Just then Lester walked over and knelt next to Molina. He pulled a knife from Molina's back, rolled him over and wiped the blood off with Molina's sport coat. Holy shit!

Lester walked up to Hector and me. He flipped the knife around in his hand and handed it to Hector. Hector slipped the knife into a sheath on his utility belt.

"Nice throw, man," Lester said and gave Hector a slap on the shoulder.

My eyes widened as I realized what had happened. I turned to Hector, speechless. He gave me a slight shrug and a smile. "He touched you," he said.

OK, right now, my mind was officially blown. I found my voice and softly said, "Thank you."

Molina's words came back to me and _what_ he called me. I hate the c-word. And then I did something I never thought I would do. I stomped over to Molina's body and kicked him square in the nuts. "_That's_ for calling me names!"

"Oh, geez, man! I don't want to be you if you ever piss her off!" Lester was laughing uncontrollably. "That was cold, Beautiful!"

Bobby had joined him and they were hanging onto each other to keep from rolling on the ground. Even Hector was starting to chuckle.

By now, the place was swarming with cops and flashing lights. I could see five or six uniforms and Carl, Big Dog, Eddie. Joe, of course, was in the middle of it all. He saw me and walked over to me. Shit.

"That was good, Steph, even for you." He grinned. I stuck my tongue out at him. He threw his arm around my shoulders and gave me a hug. "I don't want to ask how this jerk managed to get stabbed with all these guns around."

I glared at him. He placed a warm kiss on my forehead and said softly in my ear, "I take back what I've said about him. I've watched you two together. He loves you more than I ever could. I still don't want to meet him in a dark alley, though."

I started to speak but Joe just held up his hand. "Your boys did us a favor tonight. We'll clean this up. I'm sure you want to get out of here."

I gave him a hug and said, "Thanks, Joe."

"See you around, Cupcake," Joe replied. He nodded at Hector and walked away.

Hector pulled me into his arms and I wrapped mine around his waist. I leaned my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes and sighed. He kissed the top of my head and rested his check against mine.

Bobby came up to us, "Um, once the blue and whites leave, we're all going back in to wind down. Have a few drinks. Les is calling Bridget and I already called Gina. I know you like to go shower, Steph. But do you two want to come back and join us?"

I tilted my head back and looked at Hector. He raised his eyebrows and I nodded.

"Actually," I said and looked at Bobby, "Do you have something I can use to clean my hands?" I was just as surprised at that as everyone else. I _always_ went home, albeit with Ranger, and took a shower to get the distraction cooties off me. Tonight my mouth apparently had a mind of its own. Did I hit my head? Maybe I was suffering from the lack of oxygen from Molina's chokehold on me.

"Sure, Steph, "Bobby said cautiously. I could tell he was thinking the same things as me. "I have some sanitizing wipes in my bag. Why don't you come over to the truck and I'll help you clean up?"

Hector and I followed Bobby and he opened the back of his SUV and lowered the tailgate. I sat down and he opened several packets of the wipes. I cleaned most of my exposed skin and wiped off with a towel Bobby handed me. Hector had taken off his vest and utility belt and put it in our SUV. I noticed Hal and Ram were packing up their vests and utility belts. Manny and Cal joined them and followed suit. Ram took apart his rifle and put it back in its case. Lester, Tank and Vince were also removing their gear and putting it away. Tank had taken a clean t-shirt out of his SUV and pulled it over his head. All of the guys had tucked away a weapon or two somewhere on their bodies. Guns, knives, chainsaws, whatever.

Hector lifted me off the tailgate and I opened our passenger door to get my purse. I put on a swipe of lip gloss and pulled a tube of mascara out and leaned toward the side mirror so I could apply a couple of fresh coats. I smoothed my skirt and turned to Hector. I took my earpiece out and handed it to him. He stepped between me and the rest of the guys and quickly removed the mic. Once again, he tugged the neckline a little closer together in an attempt to cover the girls and winked at me. I rolled my eyes at him. Seriously?

"What?" he asked in mock innocence.

"Men!" I shook my head. "You want to see everything but you don't want anyone to see what belongs to you."

I started to strut toward the club, letting my ass swing.

"Dios! Estephania!" Hector exclaimed. He ran after me and grabbed my hand, lacing our fingers together. I giggled and playfully bumped my shoulder against his.

I noticed Lester's Mustang had pulled up in front of the club. Bridget exited the vehicle and Lester met her with open arms. Oh, my God! I remembered what Lester had told me. He was going to propose tonight! Bobby opened the passenger side of the Mustang and helped Gina to her feet. Another car pulled up next to them and my eyes widened. It was Connie and Lula. Oh, this was going to be good!

Once inside, the crowd of people parted to let the sea of men in black through. I could see the eyes of other women in the club staring at our men hungrily. Yeah, that's right! They belong to us!

We managed to get enough tables and chairs together to seat everyone. A couple of waitresses materialized and got our drink orders. As the drinks arrived, platters of appetizers were delivered, compliments of the management. They were just as happy as the rest of us that Molina was taken down. Turns out several young girls had disappeared after being seen leaving with him.

An hour later most of the Merry Men were on the dance floor. I could see Tank and Lula, Bobby and Gina and Lester and Bridget. Connie was plastered against Cal. Holy hot flash!

I pulled Hector to his feet and led him to the dance floor. We molded together and moved as one, swaying with the music. Hector kissed me deeply and pressed his hips against mine. His hands caressed the small of my back and up to my shoulders and barely brushed my breasts. He placed soft little kisses on my neck and I shivered. He pulled his head back and smiled seductively at me. My poor panties were ruined immediately.

"Damn," I whispered. Hector just smirked at me. He knows exactly what happens when he does that.

The lights began to dim in the club and the band had noticeably gotten softer. A spotlight appeared on the dance floor, capturing Lester and Bridget. Lester began to grin at her. He dropped to one knee and took her right hand in his left hand. Bridget's eyes began to widen and tears began to slide down her cheeks. Her left hand was pressed against her lips in shock.

"Bridget," Lester began, "You are the best thing to ever happen to me. I love you with all my heart and want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" He pulled a ring from his pocket and held it out for her. And as only Lester could, he wagged his eyebrows.

Bridget squeaked and nodded. Lester stood and placed the ring on her left ring finger. Bridget was still squeaking when Lester pulled her into his arms and gave her a bone-melting kiss. He hugged her tightly and lifted her off her feet and swung her around in a circle before setting her back on her feet.

Everyone in the place started cheering and clapping. I wiped my own happy tears from my cheeks and Hector and I joined in with the rest of our group congratulating the happy couple. The guys all did that fist bump thing and slapped Lester on the back. All of the Merry Men gave Bridget a kiss on her cheek, even Hal who blushed bright red.

I went to Lester and gave him a big hug and kissed his cheek. "Congratulations, buddy. Bridget is a wonderful girl. You're damned lucky to have her. I am so happy for you!"

Lester hugged me tightly and said, "Beautiful, you being with Hector helped me see how good it can be with the right person. Thank you."


	30. Chapter 30

_Thank you to everyone for the reviews and encouragement! Yes, dinner at the Plum's is coming. Yes, Ranger will appear again. That's all I'm giving you! _

Chapter 30

I looked intently at Lester and smiled. "What do you mean, me being with Hector helped you?"

"Let's dance," Lester said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I looked over at Hector. He winked at me and headed back to our tables.

Gina, Lula and Connie had grabbed Bridget and they were oohing and ahhing over her ring as they walked to our tables. Once the girls were gone, the guys ambled along following them.

Lester guided me to a quiet area of the dance floor. "Beautiful, it's kind of complicated but I'll try to explain. When Ranger started bringing you around, we all fell in love with you. You accepted us. Warts and all. It didn't matter to you that we've all done some pretty gruesome things. Most women can't take that. Except you. We all wanted to find a woman just like you."

"Les, you are just men! Granted, your choice of careers is bad ass scary. Whether you want to admit it or not, I think you guys _like_ being scary. But underneath everything, you are still a man," I said. "I've never conformed to the standard, you ought to know that! I don't do 'normal' and Bridget is just like me. She loves you for you!"

"I know, Steph. I used to think you were one in a million. Now I know there's two in a million!" Lester grinned and wagged his eyebrows at me.

"So what does Hector have to do with all this?" I asked him.

Lester looked like he was choosing his words carefully. "When you were bouncing around between Morelli and Ranger, we all were watching to see what would happen."

"What?" I wrinkled my forehead and glared at him.

"That didn't come out very well," Lester said. "I mean, none of us had been able to maintain a _relationship_ for very long. You know our lives aren't exactly stable. Not the best husband material. Hell, not even the best boyfriend material. But you and Ranger had something. He's the worst one of us. So we figured if Ranger could do a _relationship_ then maybe the rest of us could too."

"Yeah, well, he can't." I snorted and rolled my eyes.

Lester shrugged and said, "And that's too bad. For him. But when he left, I have to tell you, every one of us was hoping to ask you out. Nobody counted on Hector slipping in there!"

I laughed. "I didn't count on that either!"

Lester kissed my forehead and chuckled. "Anyway, when you look at it, Hector is just like us even though he's from the street and not military. He has some bad shit in his past too. And you two have made it work because you _really_ love each other. When I met Bridget it just felt good, you know? I didn't want to date around anymore. I just wanted to be with her. I didn't realize I loved her until I watched you and Hector together."

By now, I had those damn happy tears in my eyes.

"Shit, Beautiful, don't cry!" Lester whined. "I hate it when you cry!"

I smacked his shoulder. "It's your fault! You're making me all mushy inside!"

Lester threw his head back and laughed. "Then I better get you back to Hector before he kicks my ass!"

By the time we got back to our tables, Tank and Lula were back on the dance floor. For a big gal, she had great moves! I stared again at Connie. She and Cal looked like they were glued together. I had forgotten they have dated a couple of times. Connie didn't date much and was careful not to get attached to anyone. Most guys were leery of Connie because she was 'family' with a capital F. Guess that didn't bother Cal.

It wasn't long until people started leaving. Vince and Manny had disappeared while I was dancing with Lester. I saw Ram and Hal leave with a couple of girls before the rest of us headed out. Somehow, all the vehicles were sorted out and nobody needed a ride.

Hector held my hand all the way home while I told him about my conversation with Lester. When I finished he turned toward me. His eyes were glistening. He kissed the back of my hand and smiled at me. I smiled at him and pulled his hand to my lips and kissed it.

#####

I was dead to the world. I was snuggled blissfully under the covers. My personal bed warmer was spooned tightly behind me. Last night had completely worn me out. After the distraction, the Lester and Bridget party had lasted well past midnight. Once Hector and I got home, we showered, doing our part to save water. Ahem. We both crashed as soon as we got into bed.

I opened one eye and cringed when I saw it was daylight already. I groaned and wiggled closer to Hector, as if I could get any closer, and drifted back to sleep. However, my return to slumber was short-lived. Hector was awake and was doing his best to annoy the hell out of me. Excuse me, he was attempting to wake me up.

"Estephania, chica, it is time to get up. It is already 8:15. Tank and the guys will be here at 9:00." He gently nudged me and placed soft kisses on my neck and shoulder.

"Aughhhh!" I shrieked and threw the covers back. I jumped out of bed and ran toward the bathroom. "I'm not ready for this! I don't know what I'm gonna wear! I don't know what to do first! Why didn't you wake me up earlier?"

Hector rolled over onto his stomach and was laughing so hard the bed was shaking.

"Ass! Go make coffee!" I yelled as I slammed the bathroom door shut.

It took me a couple of minutes, blinking at myself in the mirror, to wake up. I took care of nature, washed my face and pulled my hair into a pony tail. I glared at my reflection while I finished up. God, I hate mornings!

I ventured out of the bathroom, warily looking for Hector to pounce. I looked around the bedroom and he wasn't there. I grabbed a pair of panties and a sports bra and put them on. Then I smelled freshly brewed coffee.

Hector came into the bedroom wearing just a smile and carrying two coffee mugs. I stared at him and my brain fogged over. Difficult choice. Hot body or coffee. Hot body or coffee. He handed me a mug with one hand and then wrapped his arm around me. I closed my eyes and inhaled the heavenly beverage. I took a sip and sighed deeply.

"Good morning, querida," Hector said, placing a soft kiss on my lips.

I smiled up at him, "Good morning, honey. Thank you for the coffee. I'm sorry I yelled at you."

Hector chuckled. "I know you do not like to get up. I waited as long as possible to wake you." He set his mug down on the dresser, put on a pair of boxers and went into the bathroom.

I studied the closet and decided on shorts, tank top and sneakers. I dragged the covers off the bed and folded the blanket and quilt. I pulled out my laundry basket and put the sheets and pillow cases in it. I put the blanket and quilt on a shelf in the linen closet in the hall. I would take those in to be cleaned later.

Hector returned from the bathroom and I wrapped my arms around his neck and gave him a kiss. "I can't believe in a couple of hours we are going to be living in your apartment."

"It is _our_ apartment," he said and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. "We will be living there together. There is no more yours or mine. Everything is _ours_."

"I'm not bringing much to _our_ apartment. Pretty much just me," I mumbled. I buried my head against his shoulder.

"Estephania, I built the apartment for you. Everything I did was for you. I planned for you to live there and be safe. Me getting to live there with you is just a bonus," he said, smiling at me before kissing my forehead.

Shit. Happy tears again made their appearance. I definitely needed to check a calendar to see what my hormones were doing! Well, I knew what they were doing right now. They were doing their happy dance down south. Hector had pulled out denim shorts and a white t-shirt. I licked my lips and let out a sigh.

I needed to keep myself busy before I grabbed him and delayed packing for an hour or so! I went into the bathroom while Hector finished dressing. I gathered up all the towels and tossed them on top of the laundry basket. I debated whether to take it to my mother's later to wash or take it with us and wash everything at the apartment. The apartment won.

I could hear what sounded like the proverbial herd of elephants outside my apartment followed by thunderous pounding on the door. What the….?

"Steph..an..ie! Oh, Stephanie!"

I recognized Lester's falsetto screeching and rolled my eyes. I went to open the door before they broke it down. I was greeted with a chorus of "Hey, Beautiful!", "Morning, Bomber!" and "Hi, little girl!"

I stared at the Merry Men Moving Crew. They all had on khaki or denim shorts and t-shirts of varying colors. No RangeMan black in sight. Lester led the way into the apartment followed by Tank, Cal, Ram, Hal, Vince, Binkie and Bobby.

True to his word, Tank was carrying three large boxes of donuts.

Lester had a case of bottled water. Ram and Vince each had two bundles of flat boxes. Bobby had a bag of packing tape, rolls of bubble wrap and some markers. Cal had several moving blankets and Binkie had paper plates, foam cups, napkins and a box of trash bags.

Hector helped the guys set everything down and I poured coffee for them. I started the coffee maker again for another pot. Once everyone had a donut or three and coffee, we settled down to eat wherever there was room to sit.

I looked around me. I was surrounded by the man I love and the greatest friends anyone could ever ask for. Which made me wonder...what was going to go wrong?


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

Exactly. What was going to go wrong? Nothing ever went right with my life. If it did, I wouldn't have had to divorce Dickie, lost my job, fought with Morelli for three years and Ranger wouldn't have had to rescue my ass on a regular basis. I drank my coffee and let my mind wander while I watched the guys enjoy the donuts and coffee. Moving in with Hector, actually _bein_g with Hector, was the biggest thing I've done since…well, since forever.

Bobby was the first to get up and tossed his cup in the trash. "Bomber, let me look at you. I want to check the bruising." He walked over to where I was sitting at the table with Hector.

I turned my face up so he could look at my neck. He poked and prodded. "Your neck looks good, Steph. There's barely a mark there now. Let me see your arm." I held out my arm for him. "Hmmm. That's still got some pretty good ones there. Do you have any pain?" I shook my head no. "Just be careful today and try not to bump it," he said.

"Seriously, Bobby? Me? Not bump into anything? Not trip over anything, not break anything?" I laughed. He just looked at me with his 'I mean it' face. "OK, I'll be careful," I grumbled. Bobby knew damn good and well that I wouldn't get through this day without some minor emergency. I hope he brought plenty of first aid supplies.

My cell phone rang. Yes! Saved by the bell. "Yo," I said while watching him walk away shaking his head. The guys were all getting up and tossing our breakfast trash in a bag. Ram and Hal were getting the boxes unfolded and taping the bottoms closed. Clearly, it was time to get the ball rolling.

"Stephanie! This is your mother. Is that any way to answer your phone?" Crap. My mother. _That_ is what was going to go wrong! I rolled my eyes at Hector who had turned to me, raising his eyebrows.

"Sorry, _mom_, I was a little distracted. What do you want?"

Hector smirked and pulled me onto his lap. He began placing wet, noisy kisses on my face and neck. I tried to smack him with my free hand but he just caught it and kissed it while grinning at me. I glared at him while trying not to laugh. God, I love this man!

My mother snorted and said indigently, "Can't I just call my daughter to visit? You haven't returned my calls this week and I was getting worried about you. And what is that _noise_?"

"Mom, you don't call to visit. You call to gossip and let me know what everyone is saying about me. I'm fine, mom. Rex is fine. Work is fine. My friends are fine. Does that cover it?"

"Don't be rude, young lady. Where are you? Are you home? Is someone there with you?"

"I'm at my apartment and some of the guys from work are here," I said impatiently. _And they are helping me pack up and move._ I hope I didn't say that out loud.

"What are those thugs doing at your apartment? You need to tell Joseph you are sorry and stay away from those men! I expect you and Joseph for dinner tomorrow night. I'm making pot roast."

I sighed, "Mom, please get it through your head that Joe and I aren't together anymore. We are not coming for dinner. Not tomorrow, not ever! And these men are my friends! Stop calling them thugs!"

"Well," mom huffed. "With that attitude Joseph will never take you back."

"I have to go, mom. We're busy. Tell dad and Grandma I said hello." I disconnected the call and then shut off my phone. Either she didn't know I was moving or I had cut her off before she could start her tirade. I buried my head against Hector's neck.

"Querida, please do not let her do this to you." Hector pulled me closer to his chest. He was rubbing my shoulder and down my back. "This is one of the reasons we are moving, right?"

"Yes," I said. I straightened up and looked him in the eyes. "Yes. We are moving. I will not let her drag me down ever again." I pressed my lips against his and let my tongue run across his lips. He groaned and tightened his arms around me and returned my kiss.

"Hey! You two knock it off! We have work to do!" Lester grabbed me by the waist and pulled off of Hector's lap. "Save it for tonight!"

"OK, OK, geez! So what's the plan here, Tank?" I regained my composure and gave Hector another quick kiss.

Tank began to bark orders. Binkie went into the kitchen. I'm pretty sure Rex was getting pieces of a donut. Lester and Cal took the living room. Ram and Tank grabbed some boxes and headed for the bedroom. I followed Binkie to the kitchen and asked him to pack Rex's things in one of the boxes.

"Is there anything else in the kitchen you want packed, Steph?" Binkie asked.

"Um, just the cookie jar. I don't need anything else. We can dump out everything in the refrigerator, except the beer and water. And maybe the ice cream if we can pack it in a cooler," I said.

Binkie wrapped the cookie jar with bubble wrap and tucked Rex's things around it. He taped the box shut and marked it REX on the outside.

"What about your answering machine, Steph?" Binkie asked.

"Ha! No way _that_ is coming with us!" I walked over and deleted all the messages and unplugged it from the wall. I left it sitting on the counter. A forlorn little box. Good riddance. I made a mental note to talk to Grandma if she wanted to move in here.

I turned and went into the living room. Lester and Cal were packing up my books, CDs and movies in boxes. I noticed Lester had emptied my little buffet cabinet and was packing the contents into boxes.

"Beautiful, does any of the furniture go?" Lester asked.

"No, I don't want any of it. Hector's place, our place, has everything we need," I said. "Everything here has bad luck cooties."

Lester gave me a high five. I grinned at him and he wagged his eyebrows.

I headed for the bedroom and found Tank packing all my shoes into boxes. I rolled my eyes. I can't help it. I love shoes. Tank could be occupied for quite awhile.

"Ram, can you just load my clothes into boxes? I can sort it all out later," I said. I made another mental note to only put away clothes and shoes that I really wore. Or if I really liked it or if I thought I could fit into it again.

"Sure thing, Bomber. I'll just fold everything over so it won't get too wrinkled," Ram replied.

There were a couple of boxes sitting by the dresser. Bobby was eyeing the dresser. "Oh, no. Nobody does the dresser but me. You go help Hector pack the bathroom or something!" I pushed Bobby out of the bedroom.

The first drawer I pulled open I stopped and stared. Shit. Ranger's t-shirts. I blinked and took a deep breath.

"Give those to me, little girl." I didn't notice Tank had come to my side. I looked up at him and swallowed hard. Wordlessly I pulled out the t-shirts and handed them to him. He nodded and disappeared. A few minutes later, he came back into the bedroom and continued packing.

I removed all of my things and Hector's from the dresser and put them in boxes. I smiled as I taped the boxes shut and marked them BEDROOM DRESSER. My brain fogged for a few seconds. Tonight, Hector and I would be sleeping in our new bedroom. Well, _eventually_ we would go to sleep. I blushed just thinking about it.

It took about an hour and everything was packed up and ready to take downstairs to the waiting SUVs. While the guys carried the boxes and the trash out, I walked through the apartment to double check we had everything. I planned to come back in a few days to do a final cleaning and put the clean linens away.

Binkie had taken Rex's aquarium down last so that Rex wouldn't be left alone in the SUV. Rex would be the first thing unloaded when we got to mama's house. I was standing in the foyer ready to close the door when Hector walked in. I looked at him and grinned.

"Ready, Estephania?" He asked and wrapped his arms around me. He kissed my forehead and hugged me tightly.

I looked up at him and nodded, "Yes! Let's go."

Hector pulled the door shut and we headed toward the elevator. He took my hand and together we went down and walked out of the building, our fingers laced together. He opened the door of his SUV and helped me inside and then he went around and got in the driver side. Once we were buckled in, he picked up my hand and kissed the back of it. I smiled at him and he winked at me. He drove out of my lot and the guys followed us.

I didn't look back.

... ... ... ...

Finally! The move is underway!


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Fifteen minutes later Hector pulled into mama's driveway. Her garage was behind the house so the driveway was long enough to accommodate all our vehicles. As soon as Hector stopped, the back door of the house flew open and mama came running out. As usual, she was wearing jeans and a cotton blouse, her hair was piled on top of her head and she was barefoot. I have got to learn how to do my hair like that.

I giggled and fumbled with my seatbelt as mama opened my door. "Estephania! You are here!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around me as I exited the SUV. "I am so happy to see you!" She cupped my face in her hands and kissed my cheek.

"Hi, mama! I'm happy to be here!" I hugged her back. Little happy tears sprang to my eyes. My _own_ mother had _never_ been so excited to see me.

"Hey, what about me?" Hector came around the side of the SUV.

Mama turned to him and gave him a hug, "Yes, yes, I am happy to see you, too." She laughed and turned to the Merry Men who had all jumped from their vehicles. I've never seen the big men all so dumbstruck. "I am happy to see all of you. You have brought my new daughter home! Come in and we can get acquainted," mama exclaimed.

Mama led the way into the house and we all dutifully followed her. I heard Lester whisper to Hector, "Shit, man, that's your _mom_?"

I heard a smack followed by Lester's "Ouch."

"Shut up, Santos," Bobby said. I rolled my eyes and walked through the kitchen. Hector was introducing mama to all the guys as they came inside. Mama happily hugged each one of them.

Binkie had grabbed Rex's aquarium and brought it in with him. I motioned for him to follow me through the mudroom to the stairway. "Where do you want him, Steph?" he asked as we stepped into the apartment.

"Where else? Kitchen counter." I replied. Everyone needs a hamster in their kitchen, right? "We may find a better place for him later but this will keep him out of the way while we bring in the boxes."

Binkie put Rex on the counter and looked around the apartment and said softly, "Wow, this is amazing. No wonder you didn't want any of your old stuff. Hector really built this?"

"Yeah, he did. And he totally remodeled the house downstairs." I smiled. "Sure beats my old place, huh?"

"Absolutely!" answered Binkie. "Is there a spare room down there I could have?"

I laughed and said, "Come on. Let's go down and see what's going on."

Binkie and I walked into the kitchen to find mama perched on the countertop holding court. Lester, Bobby and Hector were seated at the island and the rest of the guys were at the dining room table. Everyone was talking and laughing. I smiled. The atmosphere was relaxed and downright homey. You'd never guess that in the blink of an eye these men could take down a third world country.

I noticed that another black SUV had pulled into the driveway. I opened the back door and Vince and Hal trooped in with huge bags from Pino's.

"We stopped to get lunch," Vince explained as they put the bags down on the island. Wow. Not only did I get donuts for breakfast, there's Pino's for lunch! RangeMan rules clearly went out the window today.

I grinned at the guys and said, "There better be a meatball sub in there."

"Got you covered, Bomber," Vince said and kissed my forehead. I heard a funny little sound and looked over at mama. She had slid off the counter and was standing there staring at Vince. Vince turned and grinned at her. I blinked and said, "Um, mama, this is Vince and this is Hal. Guys, this is Elana, Hector's mother. Everyone calls her mama."

"I am very pleased to meet you, Elana. But I cannot call you _mama_. You are much too young and beautiful," Vince said softly and kissed the hand she had extended to him. Mama giggled and blushed like a schoolgirl.

I heard a faint growl as Hector stood up and glared at Vince. Oh, shit. I held my breath. Vince just looked at him, smiled slightly and nodded. Mama slapped Hector's arm and muttered something to him in Spanish. Then she began bustling around the kitchen getting out paper plates and napkins. I started breathing again and helped her set everything out on the island buffet style.

The guys had picked up some bags of ice and Tank was dumping them into coolers on the patio. Cal was loading the bottled water and beer in them. Mama had also made some iced tea for us. It didn't take long for most of the contents of the Pino's bags to disappear. I finished my meatball sub and groaned, wishing my shorts had an elastic waist. Hector wrapped his arm around my shoulders and whispered, "Do not worry, querida. I will help you burn those calories later."

Oh, boy! Hot flash heading south! I narrowed my eyes, scrunched up my forehead and did a mental calculation of where our bedroom was in relation to where mama's room was. I was relieved that our room was on one end of the house and hers was on the other end.

Hector kissed my forehead and whispered again, "I did that on purpose."

My eyes widened and I whispered back to him, "How did you know what I was thinking?"

He chuckled and said, "It is written all over your face, querida." I tried to glare at him but instead I blushed and knew I had a stupid smile on my face. Shit. This man was going to be the death of me.

Thank goodness mama spoke up, "OK, now! We need to get Estephania moved in!" She clapped her hands and everyone jumped up while mama produced a large trash bag and we all gathered up the trash from lunch. There were a few leftovers that she wrapped to put in the refrigerator.

The guys went outside and began hauling boxes up the outside stairs to the apartment. It was much easier to use that entrance rather than traipse through the first floor. I followed the first load up and directed where the boxes needed to be taken. It didn't take long for Operation Bomber Move to be completed. The Merry Man Moving Crew handled it with precision and ease. All that gym time really does pay off!

Once the last box was upstairs, the guys all grabbed a beer and came up to the apartment. There were bodies sprawled everywhere. Someone had flipped on the TV and of course, there was a ball game on. I rolled my eyes. While Hector and the guys talked bad ass stuff, weapons and power tools, I unpacked Rex's things. There was plenty of room in the pantry for his crunchies and treats. I put his bag of bedding in the utility closet off the kitchen. I filled his water and gave him some treats. I carefully unpacked my cookie jar and set it on the counter. There. I stood back and smiled. Now I was home.

"Estephania!"

I turned around to see mama with a miniature Hector in her arms accompanied by a younger version of mama and a very good looking man walking into the apartment. Shit! Company already! My hands immediately went to my hair to try to tuck in some of the wildness.

"This is Marlena, Hector's sister. This little guy is Miguel, her son and this is her husband, Antony Viera," mama said.

I smiled and said, "I am so happy to meet you. I've heard so much about you from mama."

Marlena's eyes sparkled as she smiled and gave me a hug. "I'm happy to meet you, too, Stephanie. I have been anxious to see the woman that captured my big brother. I understand you are moving in today." I nodded and mumbled something to the effect of 'sorry the place is a mess right now.' You can take the girl out of the Burg, but…..

Antony extended his hand and said, "Please call me Tony. Only our mothers call me Antony."

Hector came up behind me and his hands circled my waist. He kissed my neck and sent shivers down my spine. My knees almost buckled. I hope I didn't moan out loud! He turned to Marlena and hugged her and shook Tony's hand. Then he took Miguel out of mama's arms and kissed his chubby little face. Miguel squealed with delight and patted Hector's teardrops.

Hector set Miguel down and he toddled toward the large bodies occupying the living room. He found Lester first and crawled into his lap. I chuckled as Lester hugged him and let him play with his spiked hair. Yup, he'll be a goner once he and Bridget have a baby.

Marlena handed me a gift basket filled with candles, bubble bath and some lotion. There was also a new hamster ball for Rex.

"For you. After the chaos of moving and the party tonight, you'll want to take a nice hot bath and relax," she said. "Rex might want to explore his new home."

I sniffed one of the candles. Mmmm. Vanilla. I love vanilla candles. "Thank you so much. You're right about the bath. I can't wait to try out that big tub. I'm going to put this in the bathroom right now."

While I went into the bathroom while Hector made the introductions. Miguel was now in Vince's lap. He was enthralled with the buttons on Vince's Henley-style t-shirt. He laid his head on Vince's shoulder and started to drift off to sleep.

"Here," mama said, "let me take him. He is tired from the trip. I'll take him downstairs for a nap."

Vince stood carefully so as not to wake Miguel. "I'll carry him down for you," he softly said.


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

As Vince stood up he held the now totally zonked out Miguel gently in the crook of his arm and cradled his little head against his shoulder with his other hand.

"OK," mama said quietly. "We'll take him down to the spare room." She turned and headed for the foyer with Vince following close behind.

I looked at Hector and tried in vain as usual to raise one eyebrow. He glanced at Marlena and then stared at Vince and mama as they disappeared from sight.

Marlena was the first to break the silence. "Well, this could be interesting."

Hector whirled to face her and growled. He was clearly pissed off. I stifled a giggle and he glared at me. I slid my arms around his waist and kissed his cheek. "Sorry. But you know you can't kill him, right?" I said.

"Dios!" Hector muttered and stomped into the kitchen. He got a bottle of water out of the refrigerator and leaned against the counter while he drank it.

Tank stood up and said, "We should be going." He looked pointedly at Lester and Bobby. He walked over and gave me a hug.

"Thank you, big guy, for the help today," I said.

"No problem, little girl. Just seeing you happy makes it all worth it. I'll be back later with Lula."

The rest of the Merry Men clamored to their feet and began heading out the door to the outside stairs. I gave them each a hug and thanked them.

"Nice place, Beautiful. Probably won't be able to just pick your lock anymore, though," Lester said, wagging his eyebrows.

I smacked him on his shoulder but then smiled and said softly, "You are my best friend in spite of yourself. Now go with Tank. I'll see you and Bridget later." I kissed his cheek and he turned to leave.

Hector appeared to have calmed down and returned from the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around me and said, "I need to go out for a while, querida. I'll go by your apartment and get the Porsche to bring back here. It will take us an hour or so to set up everything in the backyard. We should be back before six," he said and kissed my forehead.

"Thank you. That would be great. I'll get some things put away while you're gone," I told him.

Hector turned to Tony and nodded toward the door. Tony nodded and they went outside and down the stairs. I followed and watched as they both did that fist bump thing with the Merry Men out in the driveway. One by one, the black SUVs left the house.

"Do we need to help mama with anything?" I asked Marlena.

"No, not until later. She and her friends have been cooking for two days. They have almost everything done and will just need to heat it all up later. Do you want some help putting things away?" She asked.

"Thanks, but I'm just going to get the bathroom done and a few things in the bedroom before I crash for awhile," I said. "Should we be worried about Hector and Tony leaving?" I bit my bottom lip and tried not to think about a pissed off Hector loose on the streets. I knew when he was younger, he ruled the streets. He still had contact with those that ruled now.

Marlena laughed. "Probably. But they aren't nearly as bad as they used to be. Let him go work off his anger. Tony will want to stop by his parent's house before tonight. They are coming over for the party. I suppose I should go check on Miguel and mama. Do you think Vince is still here?"

I looked out the window again. Hector's truck was gone leaving his SUV in the drive. There was one other black SUV and another SUV that I assume was Tony and Marlena's.

I pursed my lips and looked at her. "He might be. There is still one of the RangeMan SUVs here. Do you think he and mama….?" It was obvious there was chemistry between them plus Vince _was_ a good looking guy.

Marlena rolled her eyes and said, "I'll make a lot of noise when I go downstairs."

I laughed and gave her a hug. "Good luck!"

_Meanwhile…downstairs._

Vince had followed mama into the spare bedroom where there was a crib set up for Miguel. He carefully laid Miguel down and mama tucked a light blanket around him. They both had their hands resting on the rail of the crib while watching the baby sleep.

"He's a beautiful baby, Elana," Vince quietly said. "How old is he?"

Mama smiled up at him and her eyes twinkled, "Thank you. He is 14 months. I hope to have many more grandchildren."

Vince smiled and said, "You are amazing, Elana. I still can't believe someone as young and beautiful as you is a grandmother."

Mama blushed and swatted his arm lightly. Vince captured her hand and pulled her close, letting his other hand rest on her hip. Vince lowered his head and looked into her eyes. "I would like to see you again, if you will allow me."

Shyly lowering her eyes and then looking up to meet his gaze, mama said, "I would like that very much."

Vince's beautiful hazel eyes were dark with desire as he cupped the back of her head and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Mama leaned into him, suddenly feeling light-headed and moaned faintly.

"Mama?" Marlena called loudly as she walked slowly through the living room toward the bedrooms. She hoped she would not walk in on something she didn't want to see!

"Oh, my goodness!" Mama blinked and stepped away from Vince. She quickly smoothed her blouse and hurried toward the bedroom door. Vince smiled and whispered, "You look fine." He placed his hand at the small of her back and followed her through the hall to the living room.

"Marlena! We were just getting Miguel down for his nap," mama said lightly. "Vince was so nice to carry him down for me."

"Yes, that was nice. Thank you, Vince," Marlena smiled at him. She knew damn good and well what they were doing. Mama's face was still flushed.

Vince nodded and tilted his head toward mama. "I'll see you tonight." He turned and left the house.

"Oh, Dios!" Mama sighed and headed into the kitchen. She began opening and shutting cupboards and drawers. She finally opened the refrigerator and stared at its contents.

Marlena followed her and asked, "Are you OK, mama? You look a little flushed."

"I am fine! There is so much to do for tonight," mama groaned and gestured around the kitchen.

"Nonsense. All the food is ready. Tony and I brought chairs and a couple of tables. He and Hector can set those up when they get back. They went out for a while. Everyone will start bringing things over later anyway. Why don't you lay down for a bit? I'd like to take a nap too while Miguel is asleep," Marlena told her.

"Does Estephania need help upstairs with anything?" mama asked her.

Marlena answered, "She is just going to put a few things away and then rest for a bit."

_Meanwhile…upstairs…._

After Marlena went downstairs, I sighed and looked around. This had to be one of the easiest moves ever. Makes a big difference when no furniture is involved. Lester had put the boxes of my books, movies and other stuff against the wall next to the bookshelf in the living room. Not a priority here so I went into the bathroom and opened the box in there.

I took out my hair products and the dryer. I put the hair things on a shelf in the cupboard next to the counter top and set the candles Marlena had brought on the shelf by the bathtub. Once the basket was empty, I decided to put all my makeup in it and put it in the cupboard too. That would help contain my 'girlie' stuff. I put the cup with our toothbrushes on the counter, along with Hector's things and the bathroom was done.

I slit the tape on the bottom of the box, flattened it and took it out to the foyer. Then I took the new hamster ball into the kitchen. I could see Rex's little fat sleeping butt tucked in the soup can so I put the ball on the counter and headed for the bedroom.

The dresser would be easy. I opened a couple of drawers and put all of our things away. My things on one side and Hector's on the other. Just like at my apartment. I was still amazed at how quickly we became a couple and how easy it was to share space.

Ram had done a great job of putting my clothes into the boxes without wrinkling anything. I was able to just hang most of it up. I kept one of the boxes handy for a 'get rid of' box. As I hung things up, I tossed the clothes I knew I would never wear again into the box. I took a side trip to Denial Land and decided the shoes could wait for another day.

After I put the empty boxes in the foyer, I got a bottle of water from the refrigerator and walked over to the back door. I turned on my cell phone on to see what I may have missed today. Geez. My mother. Two missed calls and voice mails. I deleted them without even listening to them. One voice mail from Lula. She was excited about the party tonight. I smiled. She was in for a treat. All the food and Tank she could handle!

I turned my phone off again and threw it in my purse. I went into the bedroom and flopped down on the bed in my thinking position. The bed was so comfortable! It wouldn't hurt to try out the sheets so I kicked my shoes off and took off my shorts. I crawled under the covers and sank into the pillows. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. Well, it would be heaven if there was a _naked_ Hector in here with me. I rolled my eyes and hoped I didn't drool on the pillows…

"Estephania?"

Hector was leaning over the bed gently pushing my curls out of my face.

"Huh?" I croaked while trying to wake up. When I realized where I was, I sat straight up and cried, "Oh, shit! What time is it?"

Hector chuckled and his lips moved over mine in soft, slow kisses. "It is 5:30. Time to get ready."

I moaned and grabbed his shoulders. My head was spinning and heat shot through my belly. "Oh, I'm ready all right. You, however, have too many clothes on!"

"I guess our shower can wait," he said.

_Damn skippy! _


End file.
